The Covenant III: Redemption
by Enchantable
Summary: Sequel to The Covenant II: Resurrection, its been six years since Chase was resurrected and Caleb left on his quest for redemption. But when old enemies resurface, the ones he left behind must come together again to find him, save the world and themselves
1. Five or Six years later

...Somewhere in the Mountains...

It was the kind of cold that stole your breath away, until inhaling itself was hard. He had done everything to keep warm: scarves, coats, gloves, mittens--he could have been smacked and not felt a thing. It had been months since he felt anything. Of course the cold he felt as it bit deep into his skin. Even so he walked, one foot in front of the other. He felt like Bruce Wayne in Batman, climbing up the mountain towards his destiny. Of course destiny was not actually what waited for him at the top, what waited was a temple and in that temple was one of the oldest Warlocks in the world, one who had figured out how to manipulate his power so every time he Used, he wasn't forced to die a little.

So he kept walking, regretting the stupid idea yet again. He never should have left, he should have stayed at Spencer and kept the charade of a man with a bright future. Now he had left everything behind, for what? Instead of a prestigious school diploma he had a G.E.D. Instead of friends, he was alone. Oh it was no secret he was alive, given the Covenant's track record if he died someone would be on them so fast it wouldn't be funny. He had left so suddenly that he felt guilty. So he let the knowledge that he was alive suffice rather than actual contact. It was stupid, he knew. He should be more of a, well he should be more. He shouldn't have to hide away like he was.

He closed his eyes and grabbed the first nook his hand found, hauling himself up. His arms pulled but his back was the worst. Ever since it had happened, it constantly felt like someone was pressing red hot brands to his back. He closed his eyes and continued on his way. He had to get to the top, no matter what. Stumbling to his feet, he closed his eyes, swaying. He forced himself to put one foot in front of the other, the temple wavering. From inside the temple, two people raced outside, calling his name.

"Caleb!"

He recognized Chase first. He was dressed in strange cloths that Caleb assumed were part of the uniform. His scars were just as prominent as ever. However, when Caleb had last seen him his eyes were full of pain and confusion. Now he saw the turmoil in them but he also saw the beginnings of peace. Chase stopped a few feet away and met Caleb's gaze squarely. He obviously remember some, if not all, the events of their previous meeting.

"Caleb!" a second, far more feminine voice cried his name and rammed full force into him.

He gasped, more from the wind being knocked out of him than surprise. He realized that he expected for one of them to be here, he expected and he hoped. But of the countless pairings that could be, the pairing of Chase Collins and Claire Alderic was probably the last one in his mind. Yet there they were, Claire hugging him tightly and Chase was standing back slightly, looking at him almost guiltily.

"This was his idea," Claire whispered, "the second he remembered he decided he had to find you."

Caleb nodded and she stepped back. He walked over to Chase and punched him. Chase fell with the blow, landing on the hard stone. Caleb towered over him. Then he offered his hand. Chase took it and pulled himself to his feet.

"You deserved that," he said to Chase.

"Which part?" Chase grumbled rubbing his face.

"Both," Caleb said.

"How touching," Claire said crossing her arms, "can we go inside now?"

Together the three of them walked into the temple.

...Boston, Mass, 5 Years Later...

Sarah Wenham jerked from her sleep with a choked gasp. Moonlight streamed through the windows of her small apartment, playing on the clean surfaces around her. She fell back against the sheets and closed her eyes, running a hand across her face. She looked over at the orange pill bottle sitting on her night stand and turned her head away. It hadn't been weeks since she slept, it had been months, it had been years.

Because Caleb's quest for redemption had started years ago. Life had gone on, it had too. But his absence had been a turning point in all of their lives. It had broken whatever invisible glue had been holding them together. Claire and Chase had left soon afterwards, deciding that it was impossible for Chase to live in a 'normal' way, just as Caleb had felt and Claire had too. Chase's memories had returned in small spells but soon he knew what he had done. They expected him to vanish like Merrick had and he did. But unlike Merrick who had vanished to do god knows what, Claire explained in a simple note that she had discovered he was going to make things right with Caleb and she was following them to make sure they didn't do anything stupid like die.

And so they had been left alone. College was like the final sign it was time to move on. Sarah had gone to B.U., enrolling in their Medical Program. Harvard had accepted her but she threw the envelope out like it burned. Harvard reminded her of Caleb and she couldn't spend four years in a constant state of emotional pain. And oddly enough, Melanie had offered her a part time job. She knew it was out of pity but she accepted it anyway. In that time she learned enough and proved enough to make a more than competent Guardian but she turned it down again and again. She wanted to be a doctor, she wanted a part of her life to be free from magic.

Tyler and Reid, brothers til the end, had gone to UCLA. California was nice and warm and had everything they needed. It had been weird to see them load up the Hummer and drive off. Of course Reid was going to get a car when they got there but they had decided to drive down together. And when school ended they just didn't come back. They settled in California and returned some holidays. It had gotten to the point where the phone calls and letters were starting to dwindle. Apparently Tyler and Reid had grown apart too, Reid took up residence in San Diego and Tyler had stayed in L.A.

Pogue and Kate had decided not to let anything get in the way. They had been engaged for five years, neither considering a wedding until Caleb came back. In that time, both had graduated from NYU and Pogue had just decided to go to Tufts for grad school. They were moving up in a few weeks and Sarah was excited to see them again for more than a few hours. The two of them were closer than close. Oh they fought but they made up too.

Sonya had left on a bright warm morning. She had actually left for Italy, claiming to study abroad and that was the last they heard of her. Until Pogue found in the business section that the CEO of Kendrick Artifacts had been re-united with his long lost fraternal twin sister. It turned out Sonya's family was a group of very wealthy but very snobby antique dealers. Her parents had died, naming her brother Maxwell the CEO of the company and holding the VP position for her. She had accepted it and they had never heard from her again. Sarah saw Reid's eyes space out sometimes, heard the girls complain about him whispering someone else's name. She had given up stealing for good, now she raided tombs.

It was kind of ironic that Emily was the one that stayed. Evelyn Danvers had died. One moment she had been there and the next she was gone. Gorman had passed on as well. Emily stayed to guard the Danvers Mansion and the original house. She was still an Envoy and every once in a while she would vanish, leaving only a message on Tyler's voicemail. But Envoy work was not often and most of the time she was just Emily, Emily Odell. They heard from her the most, she was the touchstone for all of them.

Unable to sleep, Sarah swung her legs over the side of her bed and walked towards the main room of the house. She stopped at the mirror, still almost unable to look at herself. Her long blond hair curled to just past her shoulderblades but that was about all that was the same. Her body had been hardened from hours of training, her skin tanned and weather beaten. She hadn't even changed before collapsing. She wore low slung black pants and a white sports bra. The tattoos on her back had protested the changing but she had done it anyway. She had ignored the scar and the painful tug on her torso. The scar was brutal, to say the least. It had dimmed to a white-pink but it was still there. It started just below her ribcage and drew forward to almost her bellybutton before cutting down across her abdomen and wrapping around to the small of her back, skewing the sun.

"Christ," she breathed, looking into her hollow eyes.

She turned away and walked to the bathroom. She turned the heat on as high as she could and pulled off her cloths, letting them pile on the ground. She stepped into the shower and closed her eyes as the water pounded her back. She washed her hair and began to scrub her skin. Her hand stilled at the scar, barely tracing the sensitive skin. She drew in a ragged breath. Everywhere else she was strong, she was invincible. She had a knife through her heart and as long as it stayed there, as long as she was consumed by pain, she was untouchable. But if she took it out, if she felt again, she knew she would die. Alone in the shower she allowed the knife to come out, just enough so she could lay her head against the cold wall and sob.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed.

Sorry for what? She wasn't sure. Sorry for how things had ended, sorry that her time with Caleb had been during Chases, sorry that when he left she had been angry with him and refused to say goodbye. When it came down to it, it all came back to Caleb. It had been five year, five years of countless inhales and exhales and all the while Sarah was completely numb. She was so numb it didn't hurt anymore. She could feel nothing, except when she dreamed of places she couldn't imagine and things she couldn't do.

She was dreaming of Caleb, or dreaming with Caleb but it all had to do with him. Tyler had said their connection was strong, that he could sense Caleb was alive through her. She hared his pain and she shared his fear. She knew he wasn't happy and she wasn't either. She wished she could just forget, she wished she could just not be a part of it. But she was and for better or worse she had to play her role. She turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, drying off and rubbing body creme onto her body. She sighed and closed her eye bracing her hands against the rim of the sink.

Her entire body tensed at the feeling of something behind her. She breathing in naturally and on the exhale, she pivoted on her right foot and brought the heel of her left around, using the momentum to bury her heel in the skin of her would-be assailant's wrist. The assailant grabbed her foot and kicked her legs out from under her, dropping Sarah to the floor quickly. Sarah was on her feet and kicked her legs out from under her. She hit the ground and rolled onto her feet as Sarah kicked herself up.

"You know, the rumors don't do you justice."

"Sonya?" Sarah demanded, wrapping the towel tighter around her frame, "is that you?"

"Can I come in or did you two not rip each others cloths off yet?"

"Sarah," Sonya said, "meet my insane, asshole--"

"I'm Maxwell--Max Kendrick," he said coming inside and offering his hand, "I see your already very well aquatinted with my completely vile fraternal twin Sonya," he grinned as Sarah shook his hand, "I'm older, single and, for the moment, single."

"Sarah Wenham," she said shaking his hand.

"Oh you're the lovely Sarah," he said, "well all I can say is that Caleb Danvers is a fool."

"Now you see why I was happy when I was disowned," she said, "lets let her get dressed, come on."

Five minuets later they were sitting in the main room. Max had brought a bottle of wine and Sonya had brought more groceries than Sarah had bought last month.

"Not that this isn't great," Sarah said, "but Sonya, what's going on."

"Right," Sonya said, "well as you may or may not know, Max and I are the cover for a couple hundred Guardians, as well as being part time Guardians ourselves. A few days ago I received an intelligence report that was really bad, like epic style bad. Anyway, we--"

"We got it confirmed--"

"Why do you always finish my sentences?" Sonya demanded, "we are twins, you don't have to throw it in my face."

"You know what? You finish mine just as much."

"Yeah well you suck at life!"

"Well you suck--"

"Intelligence report?" Sarah prodded.

"Right," Sonya said, "anyway we found the intelligence report, got it confirmed and it turns out that an old friend's regained his memories and has decided he'd like to be King of the World or whatever."

"Guardians, Warlocks, Witches, Witch Hunters, Envoys," Max said counting them off, "everyone's been sent after this guy and everyone has died. We're at our wits end. No report has reached until this Guardian managed to send us a text message. We barely managed to confirm it."

"So what now?" Sarah asked.

"Well it looks like the only one who has a chance of hell of defeating him is--"

"The Covenant," Sarah said, "well I have their phone numbers--" she stopped, "its not the Covenant, is it?" she asked softly, "its Caleb, isn't it?" she sighed, "what about the rest of them?"

"Oh they're necessary, but its Caleb really," Max said, "Anyway if we find Caleb we find Chase and then we find Claire and if we don't have them we're screwed and not in a good way."

"Do you always have to be so gross?" Sonya demanded.

"Just for you," he said.

"You realize how nuts this is, right?" Sarah said standing up, "none of us have heard or seen from Caleb Danvers in almost six years. What makes you think he'll be so willing to help?" she looked at them, seeing how guilty they looked, "what aren't you telling me?"

"There have been rumors," Sonya said, "maybe you should sit down."

Sarah slowly sank into one of the chairs, looking at the two of them. Sonya breathed out and grabbed Max by the ear. A second later, Sarah heard her front door open and the unmistakable sound of a foot hitting something soft. Sonya walked back into the room and sat down before standing right back up. Sarah felt her stomach drop and tried not to feel sick. Sonya turned around and opened her mouth and Sarah suddenly felt like the world had ended.


	2. The Stakeout and the Kidnapping

The tent they were laying in was stiflingly hot. It was freezing outside and they would get hypothermia if not for the heater. The only sound was the echo from Chase's ipod. Claire sighed and put down the book she was reading, looking at the heater and then at the the man Time had changed them all, there was no getting around it. Chase's scars had faded slightly but they were still very prominent and visible, his hair was still short which made them appear even more prominent.

The three of them had not grown apart or been reassigned. Caleb had been on a quest to redeem his Covenant and Chase along with Claire had decided to help him. He had done far more than just redeem his Covenant, he had single handedly made the Ipswitch Covenant one of the most powerful in the world. The three of them worked very well together. Of course Chase still had some wicked nicknames for them, Claire's temper still was as quick as her mouth and Caleb still had his tortured soul but they made it work.

"Where's Caleb?" she asked pushing herself up.

"You know boyscout," he said shrugging, still using the nickname. She prodded him with her toe as she got up, "if you get hypothermia I am not healing you!" he called as she bundled up and walked outside.

The wind howled and she shuddered slightly as her senses were assaulted. She hauled her hood up and tied it on, looking around furiously. She found Caleb immediately, standing completely unmoving on the edge of the cliff they were on. He was shirtless and shoeless, his black chin length hair whipping about by the wind. He looked every inch the legend that he had become. She knew that it had been hard to accept Chase for him at first, but the two men were brothers now.

She wasn't sure when it had happened but it had. Unfortunately if she was considered Chase's sister then what she was doing was just plain gross. She was still first and foremost their Guardian. Of course the two of them were Guardians now too and they saved each other far more than she saved them. But every once in a while Caleb would go quiet and he would leave for a while. They would find him, usually outside, just being. Oh he was pining, no question but it was a side effect of his power.

Somehow in Caleb the power had manifested itself as the personification of a Guardian and for some reason the personification looked frighteningly like an angle. Caleb could draw almost unlimited power from the living things around him and manipulate it as he wished. He could basically Use without aging or weakening his life force. The scars on his back were from the one side effect, much like Chase's scars that seemed to be more about a price than the fight he was in. When he had first discovered them, it was hard to say who had freaked out more. Because Caleb had somehow gotten wings. 10 foot long inky wings that he could summon at will and were currently hanging around him like a coat.

"Jesus Caleb, its freezing out here," she said walking up to him.

"You should be in the tent," he said.

"So should you," she replied.

He sighed and looked at her before turning his gaze to the snow. His mind was far away--on the family he had left behind. It had been six years and he had redeemed their Covenant. The Ipswitch Covenant had been hailed by the entire Guardian world. Chase had proudly adopted the name Putnam and the two of them had pulled everything together. He should be happy, he should be thrilled but it was impossible. The redemption had condemned him. There was a certain irony to that fact. He had traded the only family he ever wanted for what? For the rest of the world to respect the Covenant? He knew it was about more than that, it was about redeeming his family, everyones family. And he knew he had done it, no matter what else he doubted, he knew the Covenant was redeemed in the eyes of the magical world.

He was numb. He could have let his wings fall, he could have ripped his own heart out and he wouldn't have felt a damn thing. He felt the ground move slightly as Claire retreated, knowing he needed a moment alone. As soon as she left, he sunk to his knees in the snow and banished his wings, falling to all fours in the powder. He was so tired of the constant numbness. Training to being named Guardian to everything he had done since mattered but not enough to make it worth it. Nothing mattered enough to make abandoning everyone worth while. He knew they were all moving on, Pogue and Kate were probably married, Sarah was probably engaged to someone else, Emily and Tyler were also probably stumbling around their feelings while Sonya and Reid were most likely fighting and making up on a daily basis.

"Caleb?"

Years ago he would have straitened up and looked away if anyone walked out to check on him, especially Chase. Not now, now he barely even moved. The two of them had grown as close as brothers. See Chase hadn't been the murdering asshole he projected when they first met. His Ascension had killed his parents and the Addiction had wreaked havoc on his system. He hadn't even technically killed the boy at the Dells, the kid had threatened to tell the world and Chase had lashed out. But months of constantly having your ass handed to you by 5' tall ninja Warlocks had a way of bonding people. With a sigh, Chase walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked down with a low whistle. He walked over to Caleb and flopped down onto the snow with none of the grace that he possessed. His abilities kept him from freezing to death but sitting in the snow when one's pants weren't waterproof was not a fun thing.

"You know, this whole angst-hero thing is a little teenager-esque," Chase sighed, completely ignoring the fact that they were in their mid-twenties.

"It wasn't worth it," Caleb said softly after a moment. Chase looked at him but kept his mouth closed, "sure the Ipswitch Covenant is redeemed, the Powers have been put to good use but there should have been another way."

"I know," he said pushing himself up, "but you did what you had to. There was no way to see how it would end up."

"I know," Caleb sighed.

"Look, they were your brothers, maybe one day they will be again but right now we've got a mission to complete and about a minuet before Claire comes out and drags our asses back into that tent. I don't know about you but I've got enough bruises from the last mission."

"So says the healer," Caleb said.

Caleb shook his head as he and Chase got to their feet. Chase tromped ahead into the tent, hesitating at the entrance. Caleb sighed and ran his hand through his long hair, still getting used to the length. Shaking his head at the idea of the Covenant being hung up on him, he walked over to the tent. Stopping, he turned around and looked at the snow. Something white slammed into him and he heard Chase yelp as the same thing happened. From the mouth of the tent, Claire raised her eyebrows and dusted the powder off her hands.

"Hey," she said, "you snooze you loose."

"I'll show you looser," Chase said gathering up snow. He faked it at her and really threw it at Caleb.

"You are so dead," Caleb said manipulating the snow and throwing two balls at once.

"Oh is that how it gonna be?" Chase smirked throwing out his hand.

"No powers!" Claire shrieked, laughing as snow sailed harmlessly by her.

"No powers?" Caleb demanded, "I don't think she appreciates our abilities."

"Oh she doesn't?" Chase said.

"Oh no," Claire said backing up against the tent.

The three of them stumbled into the tent twenty minuets later covered in snow and laughing. The pain was still there, it would always be there, but it was nice to have something to take his mind off it. He quickly brushed the snow off the two of them and himself. Claire bent down and turned up the heat while Chase flicked his fingers at his back and healed the raw patches. Outside a storm started up but inside the tent, for that night, all was well.

...Boston, Mass...

"He's a what?!"

Sonya winced at the volume of Sarah's voice and heard Max break into the apartment, thinking someone had died. Sarah had jumped to her feet at the revelation and Sonya wondered if she should have told her another way. To be fair, she probably would have had the same reaction if someone told her the one she tried to forget, the love of her life was a Guardian and one of the best Guardians at that. Not to mention of course that Chase Putnam and Claire Alderic were his Guardian partners. Still she didn't expect her to be quite that angry. Sarah's look was bordering on murderous.

"Look, I'm a part time Guardian and I've accepted the fact that I'm always going to be a part of this magical world but I have a life free from it, I've fought for a life free from this and I am not going to let anyone, especially not Caleb Danvers take that away from me!"

"You sound like me," Sonya commented, "look we're not up to that yet. We wanted to tell you because the obvious way to get to Caleb is through you."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Sarah said crossing her arms, Sonya gave her a look, "alright, fine. So its the obvious way but it's not the easiest."

"No," Sonya said, "its not but its the most obvious way and we wanted to warn you. We haven't even told the rest of the Covenant yet."

"I know I'm going to regret asking this," Sarah said, "but if no-one knows where they are, how are you going to find him?" Max winced and Sarah felt her stomach drop again, "oh please tell me you weren't going to," she begged backing up.

"Well do you have any better ideas?" Sonya questioned, "I mean Pogue and Kate are obviously out, Emily's on envoy work and if you think I am speaking to that asshole Reid," she trailed off threateningly.

"We were thinking," Max said, "that you and Sonya would go and find Caleb along with Tyler," at her puzzled look, he sighed, "Tyler's been displaying Empathic qualities, he may be able to track Caleb."

"Then send him and Sonya."

"We don't know what to expect with Caleb," Sonya said, "we have no idea what he's been through and Mel's not being what you would call helpful," she rubbed the bridge of her nose, "she's not sure what to expect either. Guardian's aren't big on paperwork and all we have is some report that they are up north."

"No, no, no!" Sarah burst out, "I am not going to chase after Caleb Danvers. I'll do whatever you want here but I'm not going to go trekking after him."

"Oh, you're right," Sonya said throwing up her hands, "lets just let Merrick take over the world, shall we? We don't need the Covenant, we'll be fine without them."

Sarah rolled her eyes at the sarcasm but couldn't counter it. She knew that it would come to the great Caleb Danvers to save them--again. Still she didn't want to admit that they needed him, that he could rip their hearts out and they would still take him back. She would be lying if she said she didn't love him but she'd also be lying if she said she didn't want to smack him. In her heart she knew why they were approaching her to get through to him. His last words had haunted her, how he loved her and knew she didn't believe him.

"I'm sorry, really," Sarah said, "but I can't do this again."

"You're right," Max said pulling a business card out of his pocket, "please call us if you need anything," he placed the card on her counter, "we're going to be in Boston for a while," he pulled a stunned Sonya out of the room.

Sarah watched them go and sighed, closing her eyes tightly against the sudden burning. She pressed her back against the wall, trying desperately to think of the knife. If she took it out, if she felt she was going to die. She couldn't do that, she couldn't just go to pieces. Clenching her fists, she pushed herself away from the wall and walked to her bedroom. Grabbing the orange bottle angrily, she dumped two pills into her hand and took them. She was asleep before she hit the pillows.

If Sonya hadn't been convince that Sarah was going to back out, she never ever would have done what she was doing. But she had seen the look in Sarah's eyes and she realized it was time to get drastic. Max shot her a look as he picked the lock and they snuck into the apartment. Thankfully Sarah had taken the sleeping pills and was out like a light. Grabbing a few things and stuffing them into a bag, she motioned to Max who scooped Sarah up. She didn't move or stir, just remained asleep. Together the three of them made their way downstairs. Swearing, Sonya raced back up the stairs and slammed the note they had written onto the counter before running down to join her brother.

"I can't believe we're doing this," Max hissed furiously.

"The first rule of crime is: do not look guilty," Sonya hissed back as they got to the garage.

No-one noticed the midnight blue Nissan X-Terra that pulled away from the curb and sped off into the night. Inside the car, the siblings traded guilty looks but Sonya kept her foot on the gas. Rumors of Caleb's mental state had been troubling at best. Apparently he was, for lack of a better word, vicious. He was a machine in the legends, the unstoppable, avenging angel. She had no idea where the angel part was coming from and hadn't believed it was him until she heard descriptions of his partners and recognized them as Claire and Chase. Sonya knew she had no chance of getting to him and, for better or worse, the rest of the Covenant didn't either. Time had changed them and that was the simple truth. The only one who could do anything was currently drugged and lying in the back seat. Everything was riding on the strong connection Sarah and Caleb had and that connection was their best bet for saving the world.

"Turn here," Max said consulting the map, "so do we want to keep her drugged all the way?"

"Lets wake her up at North Platte," Sonya said catching Max's look, "its in the middle of no-where Nebraska."

"Oh, okay," he said, "can we listen to the radio."

"If you think about putting on that jazz crap I will kill you," she said looking at him, "your my brother but even I don't love you that much."

And then they started off for LA to find Tyler Simms and plan their next move.


	3. The Second Ascension and Emily's Return

...L.A., California...

The emotions should have been only a soft whisper in the back of his mind, nothing more. They should have been easy to ignore. But they weren't, they pounded through him like waves. It was gut wrenching, which was why he was in his bathroom. His hair was short but completely sweat-soaked. Normally he had his power under control, he could function like a normal person. But every so often he went into an Empathic version of overload. It was awful, like having the flue in your mind and body. He heaved again into the toilet and all but collapsed against the marble. It would have made sense to call someone but that would have only resulted in more overload. He folded in half, his hands digging into the bathroom tile. Because of his state, he didn't realize that he had a hundred missed calls.

"Jesus Christ Ty."

Tyler weakly raised his head at the sight of Reid. Because he didn't know Caleb anymore he would say that Reid looked the most different. His hair was still blond but it was longer now, almost touching his shoulders. It was shaggy and rock-star cool. Reid screamed LA, from the tailored slacks, t-shirt and leather jacket he wore to the Viper parked downstairs. Tyler shuddered,, he didn't realize he had been out for so long. Well, not as long as it would take a usual person to get from LA to San Diego but still decently long. Shortly after Sonya's departure Reid's power manifested itself as the ability to manipulate technology. Of course they assumed that he could manipulate all the elements but Reid, reminded too much of Merrick and therefore Sonya, refused to do any sort of test. So they assumed he could manipulate all the elements. He had gotten there in record time by making some adjustments to his prized car and speeding like hell.

Reid stood in the doorway, each attack was different and they wouldn't know to deal with this one by anything except trail and error. Reid immediately made his thoughts calm and stepped forward. With each step he waited to see if Tyler screamed or gave any indication that he was going to freak out. Finally, after an agonizing minuet, he was next to Tyler. He eased himself to his knees next to Tyler and put a hand on his shoulder. He heard Tyler's shaky inhale and forced his emotions back. The extent of Tyler's ability, like his own, was still very unknown. However while he didn't want to find out, there was no way to figure out Tyler's limits. Reid reached up to the bottle of water Tyler had somehow thought to leave in the bathroom.

"I can't do this," Tyler got out, through gritted teeth, suddenly angry, "I can't do this!"

"Yes you can," Reid said.

Tyler shook his head furiously, knowing Reid was thinking he was referring to the powers. He was not. He was referring to the knowledge that he somehow had that someone was coming to ask him to find Caleb Danvers. He didn't want to, he never wanted to see him again. Him, Chase or Claire. Well, he supposed seeing Claire wouldn't be too bad, she hadn't stabbed a giant knife in their backs or tried to kill them intentionally. The other two he wanted nothing to do with, a sentiment that was shared by the rest of the Covenant. Even Pogue wouldn't jump at the chance to go halfway across the world to find his one-time brother. But, of course, they would come to him. Wise, level headed, kind, fucking empathic Tyler. He wished he could be like Reid and tell them exactly where to put their quest to find Caleb. He imagined it would be Sarah who came, for some stupid heartfelt reason. He could actually see Kate coming too. See Kate and Pogue had been engaged for six years and had two sets of parents demanding a wedding. Neither of them would consider it, even for an instant, without Caleb there. Tyler sighed, maybe Pogue would go trek off to find Caleb. But they wouldn't ask Pogue, they'd ask Tyler.

"What?"

"Huh?" Tyler jerked his head up.

"What the hell do you mean 'find Caleb Danvers'?" Reid demanded, his anger the equivalent of a mental smack, sending Tyler reeling. Reid swore and drew back his emotions, "sorry."

"S'Okay," Tyler said gripping his head, "I just knew, one day, I don't know how but someone's coming here to tell us we have to find him."

"Why'd we want to do that?" Reid asked.

"I don't know that, I only found out a day ago."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Sit her and die," Tyler said leaning against the wall and taking the bottle of water to rinse his mouth out with, "I don't even know if we're going to be asked or when," he sighed, "look, if they ask they ask and I figure out where to go from there."

"Right," Reid said, settling back.

The voice that whispered in his head was so painful he couldn't breath. Choking on nothing, his fingers dug into the tile, actually denting it. In front of his eyes, pictures he could barely comprehend blazed. He wasn't in his bathroom, he was somewhere else entirely. He couldn't move, he couldn't do anything except watch. He managed to turn his head to the right, just slightly. His left eye burned fiercely, but he couldn't scream. He felt something wet leak from his left eye. The vision released him and he fell to the side, his shoulder striking the tile. Reaching up shakily, he touched his eye and drew his fingertip away, stunned to see they were coated in red.

"Tyler! Talk to me, what just happened?!" Reid's voice cut through the pain. He turned his head to where Reid's voice was coming from, "Jesus, Ty."

Tyler screamed through gritted teeth, his hands wrapping around his head. He closed both his eyes, covering them with his forearms. He threw his hands down digging his nails into his knees. His head was thrown to the sky and his lips parted as he screamed painfully. Reid threw himself back as the lightening shot through the room and slammed into Tyler's burned left eye. Shielding his face with his forearm, Reid closed his eyes against the bright light, Tyler's screams echoing through his skull. As abruptly as the lightening had begun to shoot through him, it stopped. Tyler fell onto his back and lay horribly still, his limbs splayed out like a broken doll.

Reid sucked in his breath, the truth of what Tyler had just gone through hitting him like a ten ton weight. Tyler had Ascended again. He had never heard of someone Ascending twice, never. Reid scrambled forward on all fours and landed to the ground next to Tyler. He was shaking slightly, his eye wide open. His right eye looked like the eye that Reid had known. His left eye was completely black, red coursing over it constantly. The skin around his eye was puckered and burned as if someone had pressed a red hot brand to the skin. And starting just above his eyebrow and ending just below his cheekbone were three curved lines.

"Tyler?" Reid gasped out, surprised at how weak his voice sounded, "Tyler can you here me? Tyler!"

"Its so cold," Tyler gasped out, "I can't feel, I haven't felt for such a long time--" he choked, "Why did I do it? Why did I leave, I left and I did what I wanted too but the cost was too great. It was too great. I miss them, I miss them so much."

"Tyler?" Reid questioned.

"I'm sorry," tears leaked out of his eyes, "I'm so sorry."

"What the hell?" Reid demanded, "Tyler we're in LA, you're right here and we've lost touch but--" he stopped, "Tyler where are you?"

"Somewhere cold," he whispered, "very cold."

"Tyler is there anyone with you?"

"Chase and Claire, I recognize Chase and Claire," he whispered, "they're my family, they're family but I miss my old family. I want them back, there should've been another way," his voice caught, "there should've been another way."

And then it hit Reid that Tyler was somehow channeling a very guilty Caleb Danvers. He raised his eyebrows, unsure of what to do. Finally he backhanded Tyler sharply. Tyler's head snapped to the side but he pressed his hand to his forehead and slowly sat up, looking around. His right eye remained black but the red had stopped pulsing over his eye. He looked at Reid and put a hand on his cheek. He shivered slightly and stumbled to his feet, heading over to his bedroom and putting on a sweatshirt.

"Tyler what the fuck just happened?" Reid demanded.

"I have no idea," Tyler said, "but I'm freezing," he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a box of cookies, "and I want lots of sugar."

...Nebraska...

Sarah moaned and pressed a hand to her throbbing forehead. She knew she had missed class from the angle of the sunlight and swore before deciding to take advantage of that and curl back up. She reached over for her blanket and found empty space. Sitting up with a gasp, she looked over at the space between the back seat and the front seat with wide eyes. Her head protested the movement and she lay back down, looking around from a less nauseating position. She knew she was in the back of a car, moving across a highway and that she was not in Boston. She glanced in the rear view mirror and spotted Sonya from the angle.

"Sonya," she said, meaning for her voice to come out as a warning but instead having it come out as a rasp.

"Hi Sarah," Sonya said, flashing her a grin, "there's water next to you."

Sarah reached up and found the bottle of water. Angling her head, she managed to drink some of it down past the dryness in her throat and too swollen tongue. Re-capping it, she put it back where she found it and looked around. She could hear Max's heavy, even breathing from behind her and knew he was passed out in the back. Ignoring the sensation, she sat up and moved to the front seat, practically collapsing against it. Sonya nudge Max's sunglasses towards her and Sarah slipped them on.

"Okay, so I understand your pissed off but hear me out," she said, Sarah nodded, "I had to do it."

"Had to what? Drug me?"

"Well technically they were your drugs," she said.

"Where are we?" Sarah asked wearily.

"Nebraska, on our way to get Tyler. Max already made a generous donation and convinced your professors you needed some time off for a family emergency."

"I can't believe you have a brother," Sarah admitted.

"Tell me about it," Sonya said, "he's actually my fraternal twin, older by two minuets," she sighed and leaned against the seat, "we reunited in Italy."

"How?" Sarah asked softly.

"Caleb," she said, Sarah started, "yes Caleb. Apparently he tracked down Max and told him what had happened. The next thing I knew he was at my crappy dorm room telling me my life's story. We took it from there," she looked over at Sarah and back at the road, "he's been doing a lot of good."

"I know," Sarah sighed, "saving the world and leaving us all behind," she closed her eyes, "well I supposed the next obvious question is how'd Merrick come into the picture."

"We aren't sure," Sonya said, "really not sure. He just, kind of, appeared."

"Does he have powers or elemental--"

"He's got both," she said, "you have to understand that Merrick knows what he's up against. He's been a Warlock, a Guardian, seduced an Envoy--he's able to deal with everything--" she shook her head, "it's almost impossible to get rid of him and apparently everyone's tried."

"And what makes you think Caleb can kill him?"

"Its the only way," she said, "there's a lot about this world that you don't know, hell there's a lot I don't know. But the three of them, they've changed. There are rumors, rumors that Caleb is not just a Guardian, he's the Guardian. They are saying he's the personification of everything a Guardian was ever meant to be," she sighed, "that's not a good thing. The whole point of the Guardians is that they overcome their pain, that they turn it into something good. Caleb has done that, of course, he's done a lot of good. But then they say that he thrives on pain."

"Like he's got a knife of sadness in his heart," Sarah whispered.

"Exactly," Sonya said, "like he's got a knife in his heart and as long as its there he's invincible but when it comes out, when he feels again--"

"He'll die," Sarah finished.

"How did you--" Sonya sighed, "I don't believe in prophecies."

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked, "prophecies?"

"Never mind," Sonya said, "lets go and get some coffee."

She turned into a rest stop and parked the car. She looked at Sarah who sighed and shook her head as if to say, 'no I'm going to run away'. Sonya nodded and walked to the back of the car, waking Max up rudely. Sarah smiled, it was weird to think of Sonya with a sibling. She had almost forgotten about him on the drive, he was so quiet in the back. Keeping his sunglasses on, she took a careful step, testing her legs out and found them weak but stable enough so she could walk. She felt an odd pull and walked slowly around the side of the diner. Just out of the way, near one of the dumpsters, was a beat up woman. Sarah felt sick to her stomach and turned around to call for Sonya, only to find her voice was gone. A few years ago, the idea of finding a half dead woman behind the dinner in the middle of nowhere would have scarred Sarah, but not now. She walked over to her and turned her around.

The woman was bruised and burned almost beyond recognition. She had been wearing cloths but what was left of them had been stripped away. Her skin was pale, almost un-naturally so. The blood on her had mixed with sand and glass, until it was almost a paste. The mixture was disgusting, it obscured all her features in a horrible mask. Except for her arm. Someone had deliberately kept a space on her forearm clean of everything with a piece of gauze. With trembling fingers, Sarah slid one under the tape and worked it free. Underneath the white gauze was an angry red brand, revealing how recently this woman had been dropped.

The brand was of the locket.

Sarah grabbed the woman's face and wet her hands. She rubbed furiously, figuring it was impossible to hurt her further. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the woman's features revealed themselves. Sarah shoved back the urge to vomit as hard as she could but it was difficult. She knew it was Emily. She knew it before the water revealed it. Sarah was struck with the strangest sensation, as if someone was guiding her. She felt calm, as if someone was wrapping a blanket around her. She took her pulse and made sure she was breathing. The warm presence wrapped around her before softly withdrawing. She looked over to see Sonya and Max come up behind her.

"She's been beaten up badly," Max said.

"By magic," Sarah immediately said, "its by magic, Merrick wouldn't do it any other way," she looked at Sonya, "try it."

"I don't know if I can separate her power from his," Sonya said breathlessly.

"You have to try," Sarah said, "she's going to die unless you try to do it."

"Alright," Sonya said, "hold her still."

Sonya closed her eyes and put one hand on Emily's stomach and one on her forehead. Closing her eyes, she breathed out and pushed, not with her hands but with her mind. She found Emily's power, as much a part of her as anything else. But she found traces of something dark and evil too. She grabbed it with her mind and pulled, pulling it out of her in a visible dark cloud. She opened her eyes. Emily coughed painfully, sucking in air desperately as her eyes struggled to open. Through the blood and everything, they saw the cuts heal. The blood dried and flaked off.

"Oh thank God," Sarah gasped, "Emily, Emily you're okay," she fumbled with the water, "hold on," she wiped her eyes, "okay try again."

"Ow," Emily muttered, finally pulling her eyes opened, "Sarah? Sonya?" she looked at Max, "who are you?"

"This is my idiotic twin brother Max," Sonya said, "we need to get you cleaned up, you are damn lucky Merrick was stupid enough to only torture you with magic."

"Well I don't feel lucky, I feel sore," Emily said groaning.

"Lets get you to the car," Sarah said helping her get there.

They got Emily in the back seat and laid her down. Sarah closed the door and leaned heavily against it, her head spinning as the adrenaline left her. She leaned against the car, closing her eyes. Sonya moved towards her but Sarah's legs gave out and she fell to the ground. Looking up she caught a glimpse of a shadow shaped like a man with wings. He turned his head towards her, her heart breaking at the sight of him. The wind blew him away and she half sobbed, half cried as he vanished. Sonya grabbed her as she topple over, following her gaze to the now empty spot on the ground. The world spun again before slowly fading away.

"Caleb," Sarah breathed as her eyes slid closed.


	4. The Connection and a Reunion

"What's wrong with him?" Claire demanded.

Chase ran a hand over his face and shook his head. Caleb lay on the floor of the tent. He had gone to bed with the rest of them. They had woken up but he had not. Chase found nothing wrong with him physically, nothing that Chase could heal. He was flushed and alternately hot and cold. He was sweat soaked and shaking but he wasn't running a fever or hypothermic. His wings kept flickering in and out but never stayed for long. His eyes darted behind his eyelids and his breathing was uneven. Claire was trying to contact other Guardians but couldn't get through to them.

"I don't--Caleb?"

Caleb's eyes cracked open, completely out of focus. His head turned to Chase who immediately lowered his ear.

"They're connecting to me," he whispered through cracked lips.

"Okay," Claire said coming over to them and sitting down next to Caleb, "hold on."

She touched Caleb's forehead. He clenched his fists, his breath becoming ragged and harsh. She bowed her head, pressing her fingers into his skin. Finally she opened her eyes and pulled her hands away. Caleb opened his eyes slowly, looking around, amazed. Chase breathed a sigh of relief. Caleb shoved himself up, determination blazing in his eyes. Claire sucked in her breath, she knew that look. It was the look he got when he was determined to do something no matter how stupid it was.

"Tyler just connected to me," he said, "I don't know how but he did. Reid was with him and he knew that people were on their way to come and ask him to get us," he looked at Claire, "Merrick's back."

"No," she said sitting back, "no, he can't be."

"He is," he said, "I don't know how bad it is."

"You said they," Chase said, "who else connected to you."

Caleb looked away and Chase swore. Claire looked at the two men and sighed. Caleb's eyes went quiet whenever he thought about the people he left behind but they only filled with longing when he thought about Sarah. Claire stood up and walked out of the tent ignoring their calls. She felt sick and would love to say it was from the emotional drama but the truth was it was from the powers. Her body was easily possessed and what she had just done to Caleb was akin to waving a neon sign and saying 'come possess me'! She couldn't do that and Caleb didn't need her to go to pieces. She felt her eyes sting and tried to bite back the tears. When she inhaled though, it came out as a choked sob.

"Are you crazy!" Chase demanded coming out, "do you want to freeze to death?"

She clamped a hand over her mouth and tried to make it look like she didn't want to talk. Of course he wouldn't listen to her, he never would. He saw the way she trembled and he walked over to her. None of them liked being weak, least of all Claire. After countless re-assurances, she was still terrified that they would one day not care. She always had to be stronger, faster, invincible and yet, the times they loved her the most was when she was just Claire. The three of them were a team, no question. But even so, Claire just couldn't accept the fact they were connected. Each of them had a strength and a weakness, they complimented each other. Without one member the team didn't work.

Chase walked behind Claire. Of all the women he had slept with, of all the meaningless one night stands, he always thought he would end up with someone that was docile and obedient. But more and more, life was becoming hard to imagine without Claire. He stepped close enough so she could feel him and reached a hand out running along the length of the arm that wasn't covering her mouth. She didn't react to the contact, still trembling and still unmoving. He sighed and realized that she was folding into herself.

"I think the last time we were here, I was the one in front," he said softly, "I was leaving to go and find Caleb, I sunk out in the middle of the night. I just remember throwing money into my pocket and leaving a note before running. I didn't even have a car," he shook his head, "And then you came. I don't know how you figured out I was leaving but you were there. We had kissed, sure, but it was before I remembered what I had done. I couldn't even look in the mirror," he grimaced, "I was so disgusted with myself and what everyone must think of me--especially you. But you walked right up to me and you," he stopped and took a breath, "you told me that you were the first person to ever rescue you. You said that the guy on the porch, that was who I was and that you weren't going to let me just walk away."

"You," her words were muffled, "I thought you were going to tell me to go away but you said you need the help," she closed her eyes, "I'm scared," she admitted softly, "I'm scared of what I' going to do if I let this get out of hand."

"I know," he said.

"If he's back," she trailed off.

"I know," he said spinning her around, "that you're strong enough to defeat anything that comes your way. But you need to know that Caleb and I would do anything for you, we're a team," he brushed away her tears, "we're here for each other and nothing can change that."

She nodded and he pulled her into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes, breathing her in. Moments between the two of them, the moments where nothing existed between them were few and far between. He felt her quiet, her tears drying up and silently thanked God. He was bad when people cried. Claire went on her tip-toes and gently pressed her lips to his. It was a chaste kiss and she pulled back after a moment. He dipped his head and caught her lips in a much different kiss. Her arms snaked around his neck, she smiled when he pulled her closer. His hands circled her waist and found the small of her back as his lips wreaked havoc on her senses. She dropped her guard as he Used and let the Power warm them both against the cold. She rarely dropped her guard, the magical attacks always prominent and when she did, it was only for him or Caleb. Finally they pulled apart.

"We should go inside," she said.

"Right," he said.

"We have to go back on the ground."

He looked down and blushed at the fact that he had inadvertently levitated them about a foot off the ground. Gently he set them down. He gently removed her arms from around his neck, entwining his fingers with her own. She smiled and ducked her head, looking up at him through long lashes. He hated to think he was whipped, some male pride protesting the fact that there was one girl who could floor him, both literally and figuratively. That part became less and less important as time went by. Sure she was close to Caleb, as was he, they were family. Of course if he and Claire were family than he was a horrible hell-bound man for all the things he wanted to do to her. Not that they had done anything past kissing but even so, it was moments when the world got quiet that it was hard not to act on his feelings.

"Come on," she said, "before Caleb thinks we've both died."

...San Diego, California...

Sonya walked up to the apartment door. She was almost numb from the waist down, the result of too much driving. Max was in little better shape while Sarah and Emily weren't looking too hot either. They were standing outside Tyler's door and would hopefully be able to recruit him into their little 'mission'. Whether they actually could was another thing to be seen. Sonya reached up and knocked on the door, moving her sunglasses to the top of her head and trying not to think about how grimy she must have looked. Not that it matter, this was, after all, Tyler they were dealing with. No-one answered. Rolling her eyes, she pounded on the door in a knock that would have woken the dead.

"Alright hold on," a voice grumbled.

The door was wrenched open and Sonya felt her jaw drop. Standing on the other side of the door was a shirtless, far more muscular, shaggy haired Reid Garwin. His eyes widened at the sight of her. Of course being Reid Garwin and Sonya Kendrick, they both quickly masked their surprise and replaced it with anger. Reid didn't even bother to put a shirt on, he crossed his arms and looked at her with a look that could have melted metal. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him with equal venom. Max looked from one to the other with a raised eyebrow and looked at Sarah for an explanation but she just rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Reid demanded.

"We're here to talk to Tyler," she said looking at him, "what are you doing here?"

"I'm taking care of him," he said.

"Well if you haven't killed him, we need to talk," she said haughtily.

"Right this way Princess," he snapped standing back, "who are you?"

"Maxwell Kendrick," he said shaking his hand, "and whatever you did to my sister--"

"I can take care of him," she snapped to Max.

"Oh thank God because I have never been good in the intimidating older brother role," he said, "in fact, she used to beat up all the girls who I broke up with."

"Not surprised," Reid muttered.

"Could you, maybe, put a shirt on?" Sonya asked raising her eyebrows.

Emily shook her head and went to find Tyler. The apartment was small enough so it took her a limited amount of time. He was standing with his back to her, in front of a massive book case. He was wearing a t-shirt and sweat pants, his feet were bare. He looked so much like the Tyler she remember that she felt herself smile. She had always liked Tyler, he made sense to her. He approached things rationally and not with the unbridled passion of the rest of the group. Of course he had the nasty habit of stating the obvious but that was easy to get past.

"Hi stranger," she said.

"Emily!" he gasped dropping the book and turning around before he could stop himself.

She stared at him, taking back her earlier words of him looking the same. His right eye flared, red pulsing across it. With one eye he saw the room but with the other he saw horrible scenes of being tortured, branded. Both his eyes were focused on Emily who felt someone in her head and whimpered before she could stop herself. Tyler tried desperately to reel the power in and couldn't. Gritting his teeth he grabbed one of the books on the shelf and slammed it into his face. The pain snapped him out of the connection and he sighed, wondering when he was going to figure out a way to do that less painfully. Emily shook herself and looked at him guiltily. Tyler felt anger surge through him at the memory of her screams.

"He did this?" he demanded. She nodded faintly, "he tortured you and left you for dead?" he breathed out, "come on," he led her into the kitchen, "you want anything?"

"I'm good," she said, trying to hide her smile as he dug into a box of Lucky Charms, "so you've Ascended twice, connect with people randomly, can be snapped out of it with pain and crave large amounts of sugar."

"How did you--the connection works both ways?"

"I think so," she said coming around the side of the counter. He looked away, turning his face, "you really think that's going to scare me?" she fixed him with her gaze and he sighed, turning his head back to her. Then his eyes found the locket burn, "Sonya removed the magic, but he did this," she closed her eyes in shame, "he did this naturally."

Tyler put down the sugar and pulled her into his arms, hugging her. She stiffened for a moment before hugging him back. There wasn't anything really romantic between them, not like Sonya and Reid who could be heard arguing about any and everything or Caleb and Sarah who were inadvertently connecting with each other. But there was a kind of comfort between them, an unspoken understanding that both of them liked a little too much. Emily pulled back and swiped at the tears that she didn't know she had been crying. Tyler held out the box of cereal with a lopsided grin and she took some, rolling her eyes as she did. They heard something break and traded a look, quickly running out of the kitchen and into the main room.

There was a strict no-hitting-girls-policy that even Reid didn't dare cross. Unfortunately Sonya hit boys on a daily basis and Reid's pride had it's limits. Somehow the verbal and become physical and the two of them were suddenly in a very precarious position. Both were going to have some bruises but currently they were on the floor in a tangle of limbs. Despite the fact that they were both pissed off as hell at each other, the fact was that Reid was currently pinning Sonya to the ground. It was only a few seconds before she flipped it around and locked his hands above his head.

"You're lucky someone around here knows how to fight," she snapped backhanding him before standing up.

"That's it, I don't know why you're here but whatever the reason we're going with you," he snapped shoving himself to his feet, "I'm not leaving the fate of the world in the hands of a thief."

"Oh and leaving them in the hands of a Warlock is better," she retaliated.

"Enough," Max broke in, "we have what we came for, lets go. We have to go buy things for Emily anyway and we can't waste anymore time."

"Where are we going?" Emily asked.

"You think you're the only one who knows Melanie Crane?" he scoffed, "she's meeting us at a restaurant in a few minuets."

They got downstairs to find a Winnebago. At the front was a man they didn't recognize. Then Mel opened the door. The group was completely shellshocked. Melanie Crane and Winnebagos didn't exactly go hand in hand. Mel looked at Reid and Sonya who were both sweaty and bruised, at Emily who had obviously been crying, at Tyler's odd eye, at Sarah who was still a little out of it and finally at Max who grinned at her. She sighed, realizing that this wasn't going to be any easier than the last time. Sarah moved first, coming into the winnebago. The rest of them followed, the door closing a second before they sped off, throwing them unceremoniously around the interior.

"I told you he shouldn't drive," a man said coming out of the back of the trailer, his hair still wet from the shower. Mel sighed and pushed herself to her feet, "you must be the rest of the Covenant," he said looking at them.

"Okay, that's Sarah, Sonya, Sonya's brother Max, Tyler, Reid and Emily," she walked back to the man who wrapped his arms around her, "this is Edward--Ed," she looked up at him and back at them, "my husband."


	5. The New Enemy and The New Ally

The night was warm. They were in the middle of the desert so it was only natural. It was a good deal cooler than it had been during the day but it was still warm enough so that Sarah was comfortable in a t-shirt and long, loose pants. Her t-shirt was short and the wind played havoc on her scar. She turned around to see Tyler step out of the winnebago. She turned around and wondered how different they must all seem. Scarred, darker, so different from the foolish teenagers who had met in their senior year of high school. Tyler's eye was not actually terribly unsettling. It had been jarring when she had first seen it but it was hard now to imagine him without it.

"Hi," he said, "so I have to ask, how did they convince you to come along?"

"They drugged me," she said, "Max and Sonya drugged me. I woke up in the middle of Nebraska."

"That sucks," he said, "do you remember back when we first met and Caleb had Reid and I take you to the dance and we lost you? I remember Reid and I were in a panic and we were sure that Caleb was going to kill us," he shook his head, "right after this happened," he motioned to his eye, "I accidentally connected to Caleb."

"You what?" Sarah gasped, "he's alive then? He, Chase, Claire--they're all alive?"

"You knew he was alive," Tyler said, "he knows the two of you have been connecting for the past few years."

"No," she said shaking her head, "Caleb and I have not been connecting. I haven't seen or heard from Caleb in six years!"

"You have been connecting to him," he said, "why do you think that they came to you?"

"They said I was the easiest way for someone to hurt Caleb," she said crossing her arms around herself, "but it's not a physical way, is it?"

"Partially," he said carefully, "but its more than that. You have been connecting to him. Didn't you think that there was a reason the two of you met back then?" she shook her head, "you two are connected in a way that no-one could have possibly foreseen."

"No."

The response was strangled, harsh. She barely recognized her voice. It was hard to figure out how to put into words just how much that floored her. She hated the idea that her life wasn't her own, that someone else was controlling her like a puppet on a string. She had gotten used to the magical world, she really had but the notion of someone connecting to her was just something she couldn't handle. Before she could react, before any rational thought came through her head she was running. The winnebago faded until it was nothing but a passing thought. She didn't know how long she ran but her foot caught and she found herself in the sand surrounded by nothing but stars.

"Is this what you want?!" she screamed at the heavens, "does this make you happy?! Why did you run?! Why!" she fell forward into the sand, "why didn't you take us with you? There had to be another way!" someone grabbed her, pulling her against their frame. She grabbed onto his shirt and buried her face in the material, not even caring who was holding her.

Tyler closed his eyes and told himself that crying was a bad idea. He felt Sarah's tears seep into his shirt and channeled all his anger at Caleb. The next thing he knew, he was not standing with Sarah in the middle of the desert. The next thing he knew he was standing on the porch of a house somewhere warm and balmy. He looked around, slowly raising his hands up and discovering that he was, in fact, translucent. He slowly lowered his hands and looked around. He was there but he wasn't there, the world looked strangely one dimensional and he figured part of him must still be back with Sarah.

He recognized Chase, it was easy. He wished he could recognize him for something other than the massive amount of scars but it was the first thing his eyes were drawn too. Claire was no-where to be seen and Tyler didn't recognize the man with the two long scars on his back and shoulder length black hair. He tried not to panic, telling himself that Caleb had to be inside.He saw Claire come up behind him and stop, slowly turning around. Tyler tried to hid his grin at how shocked she looked. And then, something no-one could have expected happened. Sarah suddenly appeared right next to him but fully solid. Then Claire actually screamed.

"What the fuck is going on?! How is she here?! How are you here?! Would the two of you turn the fuck around?!"

The two of them turned around and neither of them could seem to form words. Considering how they currently looked, it was actually kind of funny. They both looked so amazingly different but standing on the porch choking for air, they both looked comically like thirteen year old boys looking at porn for the first time. Claire looked furiously from the two of them to Tyler and Sarah before looking back again. Sarah seemed completely stunned at her position, if she hadn't been trembling they would have thought she was stunned. Knowing this would get them nowhere, Claire walked up to both of them and backhanded them, ripping power and sending them back to wherever the hell they were from. In a complete flashback she grabbed Caleb by the throat and slammed him into the wall.

"Well? Who in her family was a Warlock?"

"Sarah Wenham? That Sarah, she's not a--" Chase shook his head, "when I healed her I felt nothing."

"Look for some reason magic is extremely sexist. Look at your Covenant, you think their haven't been girls in it? When a family's magic is passed through the males, the females do not inherit their power. But more often then not they inherit the ability to use it. Essentially they're cars without gas. Normally they never figure it out but sometimes after a traumatic event like--hmm-getting blasted they do. So I'll ask again, who in her family was a Warlock?"

"I don't know," Caleb burst out, "we never talked about our families."

"Oh Christ," Claire said dropping him, "i should not have sent them back."

"You think?" Chase demanded.

"Alright we'll see them soon enough," she said shaking her head, "I'm going to see what I can find out, try not to do anything too stupid," she said walking into the house.

To say that this complicated matters would be an understatement. Walking up to her room, Claire tried to tell herself that this was not and could not be the final straw. She sighed and entered her room, tapping her lip thoughtfully. She didn't blame Sarah for not talking about her family. Mentioning the word mother made Claire go into a blind panic so it wasn't as if she had much of a family to be held up against. Oh it had started normally, but after she had decided the mindlessly killing because of orders was not something she wanted to do with her life, well her family had basically told her to go to hell. She hid her family life really well, she was actually surprised that none of the Covenant held it against her. After all, when your family is renowned for one of the most famous genocide's in the magical world its hard to make friends. She never told, kept her silence because her pride would not let her be known as the 'poor little rich girl'. She was determined to be the hero of her own story, not the damsel in distress.

"What are you up too?" she muttered, her mind on Merrick, barely even noticing when her phone began to ring.

...The Winnebago...

Sonya stormed out of the camper, slamming the door loudly. She looked at them with disgust in her eyes and all but stormed out into the desert. In the back of the trailer, Tyler looked up at Mel who sighed and looked at Sarah who was lying on a bed, locked in feverish dreams. Of course, most feverish dreams didn't involve small, multicolored sparks flickering off said patients hands. Tyler sighed and looked at Sarah. The girl never spoke about her family, they all assumed it--well they didn't assume. Things had happened so fast that they never really had time to ask Sarah about her family and she never actually volunteered information. Tyler felt like a total asshole for not asking her.

"Do you think she knows?" he asked faintly.

"No," Mel said, "if she did she would have said something."

"So what do we do?" Tyler asked, "can we block this?"

"Not exactly," Mel said, "technically she has no power just like technically I have no power. She's like a car without fuel. Has she ever said anything about her family life?"

"No," he said, "she comes from Boston Public if that helps."

"Maybe," Mel went over to the winnebago and tapped the driver's door, "Jamie?" no response, "Jamie open the fucking door!" nothing, "Husband! I know you're in there so open the door."

The door opened to show Ed's face.

"You are so whipped," Jamie called from a far too spacious cockpit. Mel rolled her eyes and walked inside. Tyler raised his eyebrows at the large amount of computer hardware inside the winnebago. Jamie was sitting at one with Ed next to him, "so let me guess, this is about our favorite collapsing semi-Witch. They're serious trouble and our little Miss Wenham is trouble, not even with a capital T, I mean with all letters capped, underlined and bolded."

"Tyler this is Jamie, you met very briefly for a reason," Mel said, "he specializes in technological crap and all that--"

"Mel doesn't know a computer from a cell phone," he said winking.

"And Jamie doesn't know a knife from a sword."

"Hey! they look very similar," he argued, "do you want the info or what?"

"We try to leave him home but well, every so often they make us bring him along."

"It usually involves the words probation and last straw," Ed said.

"Okay what's the information?" Mel asked.

"Well whoever has magic in Ms. Wenham's family is doing a very good job of finding it," he said, "do you have any idea how hard it is to hack the foster care system? So far I can only tell that she's in the foster care system after an anonymous drop at a hospital. She was taken care of by a family until receiving a full academic scholarship to Spencer and she hasn't been back since. She received a full ride to Boston University's medical program which is on a full year schedule--she gets no summer break--and when it's not meeting she takes school break housing. The girl is a machine. As far as we can tell there is no family link, nothing to suggest about this ability of hers."

"Look harder," Mel said, "when sleeping beauty wakes up i want to talk to her. In the mean time--"

"Sonya and Reid are trying to kill each other!" Max cried, "what do I do?"

"Nothing!" Mel rounded on him, "Tyler, when did your ability manifest itself?"

"When I was sick as hell," he said frowning.

"And Chase?"

"Had just been Resurrected."

"And Caleb?"

"No idea but I assume it was after some kind of emotional overload," he said and turned to Max, "let Sonya have him. With any luck they will kill each other and Reid's ability will manifest itself!"

"Exactly," she turned to Max, "what?"

"It's Merrick," he said, "so I read the tabloid magazine, big deal. Well Merrick's been seen in the company of your favorite ex-whatever."

"Not Vivian."

"Yes Vivian," he said turning his blackberry over triumphantly, "by the way has anyone seen Emily?"

Emily was sitting outside running her fingers over the burn again and again and again. It was small but it was prominent. Now Emily was anything but vain, she never really had to be vain considering she was a Witch and it took a literal snap of her fingers to change her appearance. She hadn't snapped the burn yet, even though she really should. Something made her think that somehow it would come in use. So she popped open the tube of antiseptic ointment and squeezed some onto the burn before putting a bandaide on the burn. Smiling she ran her finger over the print of Scooby Doo and shook her head. After becoming an Envoy she was reluctant to use Witchcraft, feeling it was kind of hypocritical. Sighing she pushed herself up on the blanket she was lying on and looked over to Reid and Sonya who were about two seconds from getting physical.

"I cannot wait for the two of you to kill each other," she said, "and save me the trouble."

"Shut up!" they both yelled before turning back to each other.

...Paris, France...

Her high shoes clicked against the floor. The offices were not as opulent or as over the top as the Head Quarters in Miami, but most of the halls still had an echo, and because of said echo most employees seemed to avoid them. Of course Vivian had no time for such things as finding 'softer' corridors. So she walked down the hallway with her head held high and her shoes clicking. Vivian loved heels, there was no question. Life was much easier to handle if everyone just assumed you were going to murder them, not actual weapon needed. Walking towards the giant office that Merrick had she felt her anger rear its head again.

Vivian Donovan was not second in command material.

She may have been Parker's sister but she had figured out how the hell he could use the locket. She had made sure that when his Covenant destroyed its self, he was left standing. She had steered Parker into the place he was, it wasn't her fault that he had managed to get himself killed. She had whispered suggestions into the ears of several very successful, but not successful enough, campaigns to take over the world. Yet all her men seemed to have the unfortunate habit of dying on her. Oh she could do it herself but then everyone would think that she was some ex-lover hellbent on revenge or some scorned woman who craved power to be equal. She was not a feminist, she wanted power because power was the best currency.

"Ms. Donovan?"

"Yes?" she asked turning to face the assistant.

"It's Mr. Corrington," he said, referring to Merrick, "he's already left."

"Left?" she demanded, "alright get me a grande cappuccino," she said and stormed into the large office she used. There were four TVs on the wall, each playing a different station. Her office had a view, bookshelves, a separate conference area and a large desk. In reality it was only five feet smaller than Merricks but those five feet were annoying as hell, "where the hell is that flight information! Where is he?"

"Merrick boarded a flight to China about half an hour ago," the assistant said coming up with the cappuccino and a folder, "he left this for you."

Vivian took it and flipped it open. Her eyes ran over the multitude of words and papers but she didn't see anything of relevance until she got to the last page. She scanned it furiously while the guy backed out slowly. Vivian looked at the words and at the assistant who paled and practically fell out. She shook her head and was glad she only had to deal with men on a minimal basis. She threw down the file and stormed over to the window, crossing her arms and looking down. She was too important to Merricks plan for him to even try and abandon her. Yet he had done it. Vivian did not like to be abandoned or used, in fact it pissed her off. Storming over to her desk, she reached over and hit the talk button.

"Book me a plane ticket to the China, now."

"Tell me you're not doing something stupid," her secretary said lazily.

"Oh I'm just going to kill a man with my bare hands," she said, "so don't bother with shipping weapons."

"Just coveralls."


	6. Beginnings are Hard

...Guardian Safehouse...

Claire dragged her toes through the sand, arms wrapped tightly around herself. It was close to three o'clock in the morning and she had snuck out of the safe house. the moon was heavy in the sky, it was almost full and seemed to paint a path on the ocean. The waves pushed up and wrapped around her ankles, pulling at the hem of the long white dress she had tugged on. She usually slept in pajama bottoms and a tank top, the result of far too many night-time raids. But the last Guardians had left the long white dress stained with salt water like tears and she had tugged it on. It was like something out of a fairytale, layers of gossamer and lace. She was surprised it wasn't completely see through. So she walked along the side of the water and thought over things. Her grandmother had always said it was good for the soul, taking walks along the moonlit beach.

Claire started. She hadn't thought about her grandmother or any of her family in years. Shaking her head she continued on her walk. Sarah's obvious heritage was unexpected to say the least. But it seemed that this Covenant operated on traumatic events. It wasn't like Claire could blame them. After all, she practically wrote the book on thriving off traumatic events. Looking back at the safe house she closed her eyes. Caleb hadn't really spoken or come out of his room since Tyler and Sarah's appearance. Neither had Chase. Both were upset because she had sent them back but connections like the ones they had established were both unstable and dangerous. If they wanted to be pricks then that was their business, she had work to do. But it was more than that, it was the fact that Merrick would bring in the one thing she had managed to keep hidden from him. She turned her path and walked into the cool water. Her dress pulled as she took a deep breath and sunk under the water.

As the cold water closed over her head, she breathed out and sunk deeper down. Oh it looked like she was committing suicide, naturally but she was doing nothing of the sort--kind of. It was going to take nothing short of her death to pull what she was attempting to pull off. Letting out the final breath of air, she felt her lungs strain to inhale and tried not to freak out. She felt her heart thud in her ears as she gagged and finally inhaled. Water filled her lungs and before she could protest, the world just sort of faded away. The last word resounding through her mind was 'oh shit'.

...Inside the House...

The differences were subtle, Caleb realized. He was in a beach house that barely qualified as a house, not a mansion. He was sitting on the floor, not in some antique chair that cost more than an average yearly salary. Instead of a crystal glass, he simply had the bottle of amber liquor. But he was in front of a fire and he was getting completely hammered. It wasn't as if he couldn't justify it a million different ways, but then again so could his mother. Sitting on the floor, dressed in a pair of jeans and a wife beater, he found himself alternately taken in by the fire and the way it reflected off the bottle every time he raised it up to his lips.

How had he, the great Caleb Danvers, been reduced to the same fate as his mother? How had it come to this?

As he took another long swig, he found the need to find answers slowly fading away. Nothing mattered as the foreign substance slowly took over his body, mind and soul. He doubted he could have lit a candle at the moment without blowing up the house. Idly, he raised his hand and called his other power, the one that didn't technically count as 'using'. Bending it to his will, he formed some kind of blue flame on his fingers, watching in detached fascination as the skin of his hand melted and reformed in the flames. He knew he was stooping, he knew he was doing things that angsty teenagers did locked in their rooms but he also knew he didn't particularly care. Being perfect was suddenly not what he wanted to do, being perfect seemed like a waste of time. He had always been perfect though.

"Oh sweet temptation."

Turning his head, he saw a woman who was there, but not fully. She was dressed in black that blew around her silently as she hovered between here and there. He knew he should recognize her, he knew he should know why her eyes seemed so familiar but all his warning signals were quiet.

"Go on," she said, walking towards him, "forget about them, like they've forgotten about you. You're nothing but a whisper in the back of their mind, Caleb Danvers, an occasional thought. You're like an old injury, nothing but a faint scar that fades away a little more everyday until you're nothing," she was almost next to him and slowly she bent over, until their faces were almost touching.

"I know you," he got out, though his ability to speak was suddenly impaired.

"Only from your dreams," she said reached out and cupping the side of his face. Tilting her head, she pressed her warm lips against his numb ones. Caleb's eyes slid closed as she kissed him, her own stayed open as she reached with her free hand and touched the liquor bottle. Slowly she pulled away, fixing his gaze with hers, "goodnight sweet prince," she stepped back, "may angels sing you to thy rest."

With that she was gone, fading from his memory as he lifted the bottle and took another long drink, turning back to the fire.

What he didn't know was the Chase had stumbled down after sensing some weird, twisted magic. He also didn't know that after the woman faded away, Chase seriously Used and followed her. That was how he found himself in China. Shaking off the effects of Using in a traditional sense, he looked around, trying to locate the woman and finally did. The twisted magic followed her like a stain. Trying not to appear to inconspicuous in pants and a t-shirt, he followed her. His feet tore on a debris but they healed instantly. He followed at a distance but considering how the woman stuck out he was not in danger of loosing her. He glanced at one of the tourist maps and discovered that he was in Shanghai, China.

"Shit," he muttered and jogged to keep up with her.

She walked to one of the ports and all he saw of her was the back of her suit. Finally though, she stopped at one of the docks and he froze as well. During his stint as a 'dead man' he had been, on some level, aware. But he really recognized Merrick from when Claire and Sonya dragged him up the stairs one day. Even so, it was almost impossible to recognize him now. He was dressed in a suit for one, tattoos completely hidden beneath expensive fabric. His hair was long, almost longer than the woman he had been following. He could see that Merrick pulled it back into a low ponytail that hung below his shoulder blades. His eyes were hidden beneath sunglasses, despite the fact it was hardly sunny out.

"Mr. Corrington," the woman said extending a hand.

"Miss Donovan, how are you?" he said, smiling and brushing his lips against the back of her hand.

Chase was torn between trying to place the name Donovan and wondering if Claire had ever had romantic feelings for Merrick. He was obviously very charming and Chase's mind was going where he did not want it to go. Shoving the thoughts aside, he bit his lip and tried to figure out why the name Donovan sounded so familiar. Shaking his head, he turned back to the two of them and watched as they walked down the docks towards a yacht. He eased himself onto the docks and tried not to look too conspicuous while continuing to eavesdrop. Their conversation was slowly being lost in the crowd. He tried to go faster while keeping his distance but it was really hard. With a newfound appreciation for spies he resisted the urge to Use.

"Who are you?" a man asked, grabbing his wrist.

Chase made, what was potentially, the biggest mistake of his life. He Used, not with his primary, controllable power but with the secondary kill and heal power. He had learned to control the healing side of it after many failed attempts but the killing side continued to allude him. It reacted to his emotions, which, at the moment were full of jealousy and rage. So when they reacted, it was violent and blindingly fast.

Fortunately they were on the docks and he had enough sense to kick what was left of the body into the water.

Unfortunately for him, he had killed Parker in the same manner.

He didn't know that the woman was Vivian Donovan. He didn't know that he had just revealed himself as her brother's killer and he really didn't know that Merrick, for all his changes, recognized him immediately.

"You," Merrick hissed, lashing out with his own powers.

Chase's reaction was instant. He knew whatever Merrick was planning was not something he wanted to experience. Most of the time he, Claire and Caleb kept their Guardian training secret. Revealing who you worked for to the world was generally not a good idea when one was a Guardian and most of the time they managed to get by as whatever the mission required. There was always a mission. But right then his training took over. At the same instant Merrick lashed out, he lashed right back and Healed his attack. That gave him the window he needed to close the gap and hook his right foot around Merrick's ankle while using his forearm to topple him into the water.

Turning around, he didn't expect the palm that slammed into his nose, breaking it. Who it was would have shoved the splinters into his brain and killed him but he manage to roll backwards with the attack. Whoever it was was surprised but not enough to back off. Predictably it was the woman dressed in black. Cursing his luck, Chase healed his nose and ducked under the woman's fist, grabbing it and twisting it behind his back.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"Vivian Donovan," she snapped breaking his hold and knocking the air from his lungs.

"What the fuck have I done to you?" Chase demanded.

Her eyes narrowed and the twisted magic swelled up again. He stumbled back, his head spinning. The last time he had recognized it but this time he could barely think with it. He could barely breath. A strange bird spiraled downwards and knocked into Vivian, breaking her hold. Chase felt something sharp pierce the skin of his wrist and he felt the ground slowly fall away from him. Looking up through hazy eyes, he wondered how a bird could carry his weight while dully listening to Vivian's angry scream. He suddenly found himself free-falling before the bird grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him higher up in the air.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"What?" a very familiar voice mocked, "don't recognize me Chase?"

"Pogue?" he demanded looking at the bird which flashed Pogue's familiar smirk for a moment before turning back, "this is your power?"

"Pretty sweet huh?" he laughed, "come on, lets get you out of here."

The twisted magic hit them full on. Pogue spiraled downwards until the tips of Chase's feet hit the water. With a grunt, he yanked them both up high into the sky and flew forward as fast as he could. CHase looked up to see his eyes turn black as the night and knew he was Using. Almost instantly the ground below them changed to the countryside. As they got lower, they saw a bright yellow house surrounded by flowers. Pogue lowered Chase to the ground. His feet wouldn't support his weight and he sagged to the ground, completely drained.

"Come on man," Pogue said, "stay with me--Kate!"

Kate came running out of the house, hastily pulling her hair back. That was the last thing Chase saw before his eyes rolled up and he passed out.

...The Winnebago...

The sun was already setting as Mel stepped onto the grass surrounding the winnebago. It was much darker out. They had covered a lot of ground that day but Sarah had barely stirred. First time magic users, of any kind, slept for days on end so this was not unusual, just jarring. In fact, she would probably sleep for much longer but Mel had no desire to break that news to them quite yet. She knew they were going to panic like hell but she didn't want to scare them right now. Tapping her lip, she wondered when she had started to be such an old lady. With a sigh, she sat on the grass and crossed her legs under her, resting her chin in her hands.

"I found it!"

She jumped a mile in the air and looked back at the winnebago. Tyler came running out with a file which he handed over. It was still warm from the printer. She opened it and looked through the data printed on the pages. Shaking her head, she looked again. The words she were seeing couldn't be true, but she knew better then to tell Jamie that. She looked at the evidence and then up at Tyler before back at the paper.

"Well?"

"This is impossible," she said waving her hand, "not to mention it's completely ridiculous."

"Coming from you? What is she, descended from unicorns?" Tyler questioned raising his eyebrows.

"Ha ha, but according to this, well, it's insane--" he reached and plucked the file from her, "hey!"

"Holy crap," he looked at the words, "are you kidding me? Isn't there some kind of Ancient Law against this?" he demanded and looked back at the file, "oh there is--that's what the Witch Hunters do? I'm going to talk to Emily," he said holding the file and walking into the winnebago, "Emily?"

"Hey," she said, "what's up?"

"This is going to sound very odd," he said, "but bear with me. What can you tell me about the Covenant of the Sky?"

"That's a name I haven't heard in forever," she said faintly sitting down, "uh, it was an old Covenant, very old. You know each Covenant is given a different name like the Covenant of Ipswitch and so on. Well the Covenant of the Sky chose their name because they were young, hot and thought they were cool. See no-one actually knows why certain people have the power, but believe me people have tried to figure it out. Anyway, unlike your Covenant the Covenant of the Sky was very old. They were actually around the time the whole Ancient Law business started. Well like any Covenant that passes on their power at such a young age they were full of problems but managed to stay relatively alright."

"So this is right?" Tyler demanded.

"Let me see it," she said pulling the file out of his hands, "holy crap."

"That was my reaction," he said.

"She so can't be--" she looked at Sarah, "okay maybe she can but this is just nuts!"

"Why is everyone questioning my work?!" Jamie's voice hollered from inside the cabin followed by Ed's softer on.

"So Sarah," Tyler said, "the love of Caleb's life is the product of the sister of one member of this Covenant and the leader of it?" he demanded and Emily nodded, "and she's the reason this entire Covenant was--" he lifted one of the pages of the file, "exterminated?" she nodded again, "and we," he motioned to all of them, "somehow have their power thanks to Merrick?" she nodded again, "my head hurts," he said sitting down hard.

"Oh I know," she said, sympathy plain on her face as she carefully sat next to him, "I'm so sorry this happened--I--" she stopped, sucking her breath, "oh my God."

"Emily?" he demanded, looking at her frantically, "Emily what's going on?!"

...Guardian Safe house, morning...

Caleb groaned and pressed his hands to his head which throbbed painfully. Opening his eyes, he looked at the almost empty bottle of alcohol and tried to remember what the fuck happened last night. Drawing a complete blank, he slowly got to his feet and looked out at the beach. The day was overcast, thankfully, so he was able to look outside. From the ocean, Claire walked. It was gradual and she walked as if it were the most natural thing to do. Feeling slightly sick, he stumbled to the door and yanked it open and stopped dead in his tracks. Claire looked different. He couldn't put his finger on it but she looked very different. He tried to say her name and found his voice was completely gone.

"Hey Caleb," she said looking at him, cocking her head to the side as if she was looking at him for the first time.

"Hey," he got out, "do you know where Chase is?"

"Chase," she said thoughtfully, rolling the name around on her tongue, "no, I haven't seen him. Maybe he's still sleeping?"

"Claire," he said slowly, "are you alright?"

"Me? I'm fine," she scoffed, "never better. So, lets go in, you look like crap by the way," she added sidestepping him and walking inside, "well, this is gross."

"Claire what's going on?"

"Nothing," she said laughing, "absolutely nothing, I'm going to change."

"Okay," he said slowly as she walked up the stairs.


	7. The Start of the Spiral

...The Cottage, Sanctuary...

Chase opened his eyes slowly. He was lying on a daybed with sunlight streaming over him. He pushed himself up carefully and winced. His wrist was bandaged but still bloody and he could feel something on his back. Lifting his wrist, he sniffed and winced at the putrid smell of herbs. Lowering his wrist he swung his legs over the side of the bed and pushed himself to his feet. Carefully he walked out of the room and into the hallway. The house was cheery and bright, in fact it was good deal brighter than anything he had seen in years. He actually felt oddly at peace, as if for the moment everything was alright.

He stepped into the kitchen and stopped. Standing over an old-fashioned hearth was Kate. He barely recognized her, dressed like she was in a soft yellow dress with an apron tied on. Her black hair was braided and tied back with a piece of fabric that matched the apron. She was humming and stirring a pot. When she took away her hand, the pot continued to stir by itself. Walking over to a long table, she cut up a few more herbs and tossed them into the pot. Reaching a nimble finger into the pot, she withdrew it and rubbed the potion between her fingers, watching a series of small sparks emit.

"Hi Chase," she said turning around and wiping her hand on her apron, "sit down, you must be starved."

"Hi," he said slowly, sharply reminded of the spell he had placed on her, "where are we?"

"You're in my house," she said as he slowly sat down, "Pogue brought you in yesterday and you've been asleep ever since. As usual he forgot to turn his claws into something less damaging," she held up her own delicate wrist, showing the neat scarred claw marks along her skin, "you think he would have known by now."

"What's going on?" he asked as she pulled a plate from the oven and put it in front of him, "how are you doing that?" he pressed a hand to his head, "why do I feel like I'm hungover?"

"First off, you are in my kitchen eating," she said, "secondly, I am 'doing that' with the pot because I know some rudimentary magic. Thirdly you feel hungover because whoever spelled you poisoned your magic. Also the fact that you Used for the first time in god knows when means it went strait to your head."

"I won't be Using anytime soon," he said.

"Good," she said, "now then, Pogue should be back--"

"Honey! I'm home!"

"Right now," she finished.

Pogue strode into the kitchen and Chase once again stared. He had much longer hair, reaching almost to his shoulders now. His eyes were bright as always. When he had seen him last, there had been a seriousness to them but now they were carefree as a child's. His shirt had two neat rips down the shoulder blades which Kate fixed with a gentle touch of her hand and a soft tut of her voice. Pogue leaned down and kissed her. The whole experience was so surreal that Chase completely lost his appetite.

"Look whose up," Pogue said looking at him, "you gave us a real scare," he looked from Chase to Kate, "why does he look like that? I thought you did that herb-thing."

"I did," she said, "I'm sure he just needs an explanation from his Covenant brother," she looked at him meaningfully, "so explain."

"Come on," he said motioning and leading Chase into a different room, "so, wow, you look really different. How have you been?"

"Okay," Chase said, "I've been a Guardian with Caleb and Claire for the past few years. They're okay too."

"Good," Pogue said, "now then, about this," he motioned to the house, "well after this whole animal transforming thing manifested itself, we decided to move. We were about to graduate and I was going to Tufts for grad work. Well after this happened that was pretty much out of the question, I had absolutely no control over this. Apparently it's rare or something because everyone under the moon started coming to us to try and get me on their 'side'," he sighed, "well I didn't want to go to a side. So Kate said we should just leave."

"Kate?" Chase questioned thinking of pop-culture obsessed Kate.

"Yes, Kate," he said grinning, "and then Mel showed up. She found this house for us and we 'disappeared'."

"What about Kate's powers?"

"The housekeeping stuff?" Pogue said, "oh it didn't manifest until after we got here, you're in the Sanctuary--"

"The Sanctuary, the neutral ground?"

"Yes that Sanctuary," Pogue said, "I help keep it that way now. When we got here somehow Kate manifested powers. Right now they're pretty simple, just housekeeping magic and such, but I've got a feeling that's going to change."

"Change--" he paused, "Whose Donovan?"

"Parker Donovan," Pogue said, "he's the reason we've got these powers. You actually killed him outside Caleb's house. Why?"

"His sister, she was the girl on the docks?"

"He's got a sister?" Pogue demanded, "wow. No wonder she was trying to kill you. Was she with anyone?"

"Merrick," he said, "shit, I've got to get back to the safehouse. Vivian was trying to do something to Caleb--" he stood up, "thank you for your hospitality, really, but I have to get back before something terrible happens," he looked around, "I don't know if I can Use without getting Addicted, can you get me back there?"

"Yes," he sad, "stay here," he went into the kitchen.

Chase ran a hand over his face and turned around. He jumped back with a yelp as his torso hit something. Stepping back, he raised his eyebrows at the sight of Claire. She was dressed very oddly and looked very different than what he knew she looked like. She crossed her arms and looked at him levelly. He stared at her, feeling his jaw go slack at the realization that Claire had just used, on some level, magic. He didn't know that Claire had ever used magic in any way. He thought she was immune from magic, not able to wield it. She looked different, even if he couldn't place why except for the fact that she looked drastically different.

"Wow!" Claire cried as Caleb materialized next to her looking very hungover with his wings trailing behind him, "look at this place! I forgot how weird it was!"

"I don't know what happened to her," Caleb groaned stumbling into the chair, "she walked onto the beach today and she hasn't stopped since."

"Caleb?!"

Caleb gasped and got to his unruly feet, almost falling over. Pogue stared at him, his eyes wide. it was the first time the two one-time brothers had seen each other in over six years. Needless to say the two of them were more than shocked to see each other. Pogue still looked relatively normal but Caleb had longer hair and a ten foot wingspan. Claire on the other hand was busy examining everything with deep scrutiny while Chase tried to figure out what she was doing. Pogue stared at Caleb in shock. He looked so different, barely recognizable. Standing there, Pogue had no doubt that Caleb had redeemed the Covenant. But looking at his too-old eyes, he wondered how terrible the price had been.

"Hi Pogue," he said slowly.

"Caleb," Pogue shook his head and pulled him into a hug. Caleb tensed initially but hugged him back, "it's good to see you again! You look different--"

"That's not Caleb Danvers," Kate said coming out, "oh my God, Caleb!" she hugged him tightly, "look at you! We've been so worried about you!"

"Those wings are impressive," Pogue said, "i've been some weird shapes but thats really---"

Exactly what Pogue thought of Caleb's wings would remain a mystery because in that instant Claire snapped her fingers and created a blue spark. The spark immediately erupted into bright pink flame that twisted around her hand before exploding into multicolored lights that danced around her like a cape. They blew outwards, enveloping her frame. Slowly they twisted down her other arm, before vanishing all together into her palm. She looked around, confused. They all stared, obviously shocked. She shook her head and wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for that to happen?" she said looking in the mirror, "well I need a haircut in the worst way and whoever picked out my cloths deserves to be shot!"

"Claire what the hell is going on?" Caleb demanded, his patience finally vanishing.

"Claire?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in disbelief, "who the hell is Claire?"

...The Winnebago...

"So she ended a Covenant," Ed said softly, "big deal, it's not as if she did it on purpose."

"Everyone is going to want to kill her--everyone wants to," Mel said, "people have been searching for her for years."

"And they haven't found her," Ed countered patiently, "whose to say they will now?"

"There's too much going on, there are too many variables," Mel said, "Sarah, Claire--"

"Claire?" he asked, "what does Claire have to do with this?"

"Emily felt a power surge, a very large power surge. The only one I know capable of creating the kind of surge that she described is a member of the Theron Clan," she sighed and looked away from her husband, "you see, the second time I helper her escape it was from her family, the Theron Clan. If she's created that kind of a surge it mean's she's resurrected herself as a member of that Clan. She's been doing fine as she was, why she went and did that I don't understand!" she sighed, "if Claire goes for her home Clan, she has a claim to be their heir again, disowned or not. If she takes over the Theron Clan she takes over the Witch Hunters."

"And the leader of the Witch Hunters will be unstoppable considering she knows everything about both Envoys and Guardians."

"She'll kill everyone," she said with a soft sigh, "do you remember how she was before she was changed? I have no idea what to do except kill her."

Inside the winnebago, Tyler filled a glass with water and took two aspirin from the bottle on the shelf in his other hand. He stepped outside and looked around. From a cluster of trees, a very green Emily emerged, swaying slightly on her feet. He sighed and transfered the aspirin to his pocket, stepping over to her and handing her the glass of water. She gave him a deeply grateful look and washed her mouth out, turning away as she spat the water on the ground. He produced the aspirin and she took them, washing them back with the remaining water.

"Sorry, power surge," she said blushing furiously.

"It's okay," he said, "does that happen--often?"

"No," she said, "it hasn't in a while. It's just between the Envoy thing and the Witch thing," she motioned with her hand, "sometimes its just power overload."

"I forgot you were a Witch," he said.

"Yes," she sighed, "well I try to discourage that part."

"Why?" he asked.

"They were called the Witch Trails," she said crossing her arms tightly. He raised his eyebrows, "hey! You try being represented by a green faced woman with a pointy hat and skin care issues. Witches aren't exactly 'liked' by the greater power community," he still had his eyebrows raised, "okay I know it sounds weird but they aren't generally respected or liked--i know it's their own fault but still, I generally prefer to downplay that side."

"Okay," he said, "do you want to go inside?"

"Where are Reid and Sonya?" she asked looking around, "it's terribly quiet here."

"I think Max chained them up in the back," he said, "smart guy."

Max had not, in fact, chained Sonya and Reid in the back. No, that would have been mean. He had chained them together which was just plain wicked. Sonya was trying to figure out where her brother had gotten the handcuffs from--while trying not to think about Mel and the fact that her husband was there. Next to her, Reid did his best not to imagine all the lovely ways that he could be free and Sonya could be just slightly impaired. Sonya held up her wrist and looked at the lock before glancing at her dozing brother. She would have stolen the keys, naturally, or beat the crap out of him and taken them anyway but it was both out of the question considering he had broken the key into the lock.

"Well?" she looked at Reid, "can't you Use or something?"

"I don't Use," he snapped.

"Of course you don't," she sighed, "well what about your other powers?"

"Oh you mean the ones you cursed us with when you opened that fucking locket? Mine haven't manifested yet," she glared at him, "they haven't!"

She brought her hand up in one smooth motion and gave him a black eye.

"They manifested yet?" she demanded, "because being chained to you is not something I really enjoy!"

"And you think I do?" he demanded, "you've been nothing but a pain in the ass since the day we met."

"You're unbelievable! I wanted nothing to do with you--you roped me in! The only reason I've been a pain in the ass is because you dragged me back in! I was perfectly happy to be out of this magical world which I made very, inescapably, crystal clear!"

"You saved my life and I tried to thank you! No-one asked you to repeatedly come back after you ran away!"

"Oh please! I was happy hiding out!"

"You mean being a coward!"

"I was not a coward!" she shouted, "no more then you were! Tough as nails Reid Garwin the power Addict! You were pathetic and time hasn't changed you one bit!"

He growled, too angry to actually use words.

The lock clicked and opened.

...Witch Hunters, Lui Clan...

Vivian stepped out of the elevator and looked around in complete disgust. The Lui Clan was not into what most people considered health regulations. The place was, like most Witch Hunter hideouts, a cross between a Frank MIller graphic novel and Coyote Ugly. Of course in the infamous hideout of the Lui Clan everything was glossed over in guilt and silk. LIke most Witch Hunter families, they had their hand in more than one extremely profitable illegal enterprise. She knew coming here was risky to say the least. She was, after all, the sister of one of the most notorious Warlocks and currently working for his brother. Well, no matter. Merrick was, for the time, untouchable.

The Covenant of Ipswitch was not.

Witch Hunters in themselves were governed by one simple principal: In order to fight monsters, you had to become on, or be one to start with. Otherwise you were just going to get your ass kicked. That was what was so wrong with choosing between good and evil, the choice was between predator and prey, no matter which side of the line you chose to be on that week. To say they had taken pre-emtpive action towards falling on the predator side would be a major understatement. The Witch Hunters were, as a bunch, obsessed with being predators and Vivian was holding the cards to give them a very impressive Prey.

"Lord Lui," she said, addressing the man reclining on a silk couch and surrounded by women.

"Miss Donovan, we've been expecting you," he said leaning up slightly, "how kind of you to come within our lifetimes."

"Of course," she said bowing down, "I assume you know why I'm here."

"I spend an astronomically large sum to know why people seek me out," he said, "of course I know why you're here and I will tell you right now that I have no interest in risking my Clan to get revenge on a variable," he leaned back, "if the Envoys deem them a threat, then we can talk about how to kill the Covenant of Ipswitch. Right now they are Guardians and protected by Guardian Law. If you think I will risk outright war, you are drastically mistaken."

"How very caring of you," she said with distaste, "I'm not here to discuss outright war with the Guardians, even i know that's suicide. As for my brother, if it was revenge I wanted by killing them they would already be dead. Some information has come to my attention, something that might peak your interest."

"My flair for the dramatic is limited to theater," he said, "get to it."

"Two of the Covenant members are traveling with Almira Theron," she said, "a recently resurrected Almira. You know what happens if she reaches her home Clan, the Theron's will have an heir again," Lui shifted, "and two other members are traveling with the last remaining member of the Covenant of the Sky."

He smiled slowly and Vivian knew she had him.


	8. Answers won't come without a Fight

...The Cottage...

The piano was playing.

No-one's hands were on it, but it was playing, courtesy of Claire. She hummed along with the tune as she inspected everything with the same sharp attention to detail she had exhibited before the rainbow sparkle incident. Her eyes weren't even dark or changed, they were exactly the same as they had been. Caleb, Pogue, Chase--even Kate could usually feel when someone was Using but they felt absolutely nothing. It wasn't telekinesis considering she's displayed the power to make the photos move like movies. The four of them had sat down heavily and not moved since she had asked who 'Claire' was.

"Do you know who we are?" Caleb asked gently.

"Two of you are Guardians," she said, peering at one of the delicate objects, "one of you is guarding Sanctuary and the last is married to him," she sniffed at the dust, "you have the personification of a Guardian, you have power over life and death, you have animal transformation and you have some rudimentary magic," she changed the tune of the piano with a flick of her fingers, "but you're all connected to the Covenant of Ipswitch."

"If you want to put it bluntly," Chase snapped, "who are you?"

"Almira," she said, "Almira Theron," she said, "what?"

"I know the name Theron," Pogue said, "now. I totally forgot that you told us you were a member of a powerful Witch Hunter Clan. Of course you failed to mention that powerful doesn't really do it justice."

"Oh no," she said looking t him, "powerful doesn't do my family justice. Insane, mentally challenged completely vicious and disgusting--that's my family," she shuddered, "i have no idea why I'm doing this."

"Well i suggest you figure it out!" Chase bit out standing up, "considering you basically killed yourself to do this," she turned around and raised her eyebrows, "what?"

"You're not as stupid as you look," she said turning back to the mirror, "but why are you so bitter?"

"Because I don't like whoever you are right now," he said bluntly standing up, "I liked neurotic, crazy Claire. I don't know any Almira," he snapped walking out of the room.

She recoiled visibly, as if she had never been spoken to in such a manner. Picking up herself she walked right out after him. Chase may have been scarred but he was fast as hell. Thankfully they were on a field and he was relatively easy to spot. No-one had ever spoken to her like that, in her entire life and she did not like it one bit. Of course she hated the look in his eyes way more, that disgusting look as if she had canceled christmas. So she had absolutely no problem walking over to him, repeating in her mind that he was just a Warlock and there was nothing special about him. The fact that she had to repeat that should have been a major red flag.

"Where the hell do you get off speaking to me like that?" she demanded walking up to him, "you don't even know me!"

"You're right," he said, "I don't. I know Claire and you're clearly not her."

"Claire didn't exist," she snapped hotly, "she was an alias, a lie, nothing more. I am Alm--"

"I don't care who the hell you are," he snapped, "Claire Alderic was real, she had people who cared about her, people who loved her and if that doesn't make someone 'real' then I don't know what does. Almira whoever has absolutely no part in this, she's had no part in this so you can just go and vanish like you did before because no-one wants you here."

"Who the hell are you to talk me like that?" she demanded, outraged, "you're just a Warlock!"

"And you're just a Witch Hunter," he snapped right back.

"I am the future ruler of the Witch Hunters!" she shouted, correcting him.

"Well excuse me Princess," he snapped.

She stomped her foot and turned away, feeling herself getting horribly worked up. This was a Warlock, what business did he have being able to work her up? She was better than that, she always had been. So he was scarred and had incredible eyes, he was a Warlock and she would probably one-day kill him. She had no business getting worked up. Turning around, she saw he was still there, looking at her with a smirk on his face. She told herself slapping it off his face would not do her any good. For better or worse she was bound to them for the time being and she had better work with them. Her memories from the past few years were jumbled and blurry, she was having more and more trouble making sense of them as time went on.

"Alright, look we have to work together, at least for the time being," she sighed, "and trying to kill each other is simply counter productive. I can already tell you're going to be my biggest problem so lets get this out of the way. You can call me Claire," she sighted, "it's my middle name."

"Whatever," Chase said, the same disgust in his eyes and his voice.

"Okay what the hell? Did I do something to you? Why the fuck are you moping around like some hormonal teenager?" she demanded, sounding like the Claire he knew, "what?"

"You just killed the woman I've spent every day of the last six years with. How would you feel?"

"You see this is why I don't have any emotional attachment," she sniffed, flipping her hair off her shoulder, "it just can't be worth it."

"Well then I guess you can't understand," he snapped right back and walked away.

Claire gasped. People did not walk out on her, they just didn't. Fine! if this Chase wanted to play this game then she would play it right back. Narrowing her eyes she considered using her powers to beat him but considering he hadn't Used, she decided she was not going to be the first to take off the gloves. No sense in busting a knuckle if she could ram a foot between his legs when he wasn't looking. She walked to where he was and picked up her pace, maneuvering in front of him in a walk that was usually reserved for three inch heels. She felt his reaction and walked forward, beating him to the door and walking inside.

Inside the house, Caleb felt a shiver run down his spine. That was the only warning he had before pain blazed across his body, knocking the air from his lungs and the ability to stand from his legs. He doubled over on the floor, every muscle from his wing tips downwards echoing in pain. He couldn't even cry out. His eyes opened wide, blazing black with red pulsing over the surface. He couldn't breath, he couldn't move as he was held a prisoner by magic he didn't understand.

When it finally cleared he hit the ground hard and thought no more.

...The Winnebago...

Someone had taken every muscle out of her body.

That was the only logical conclusion that Sarah could come too as to why she couldn't move. Everything felt thick and heavy as if her body had been replaced with weights. Slowly she turned her head. She recognized the inside of the winnebago just barely. What she didn't recognize was why she felt so thick. Thick was the only way to describe how she felt at the moment. Forcing her body into some kind of obedience, she pushed herself up slowly and swung her feet over the side of the bed. By the time her feet hit the ground, the reason for her thickness came to her.

She had Used.

Not in a technical sense but she had connected to Tyler's power somehow. She had connected to it and found herself facing Caleb Danvers. Not to say that she was particularly shocked that it had been him she was facing. After all, if she was going to do something with magic it only made sense that he was a part of it. As she thought back to how oddly natural what she had done felt, she began to slowly fit the pieces together. Soon it felt like someone had dumped ice water on her, the adrenaline pounding through her faster than she thought possible.

They must all know now that she had been in the foster care system. She imagined that every kid who didn't know their parents dreamed of them being something fantastic, royalty or such. She had never entertained those thoughts. She had decided from the time she was very little that she did not need a family to define herself with. She had never dreamed of her family 'appearing' one day to come and take her home. She had never thought about two people telling her they had created her and wanted her back. She had never thought about having her birth parents or having a family.

Oh she had felt like a princess when Caleb Danvers had swept her off her feet. But if she had Used, had their attraction been something other than that? Had it been due to some forgotten power she had? Biting her lip, she tried to calm her racing thoughts to very little avail. What was she? She had no idea and though she was able to sit up she doubted she could walk at all. Closing her eyes against the burning, she tried to summon up the ability she had. Nothing happened. Letting out a breath, she sighed and folded in half, letting her head hang down. She felt awful and nervous and a thousand other things that she couldn't describe.

Sighing she closed her eyes and slowly sat up. She wanted Caleb, how she could admit that she had no idea. She had been so angry at him that suddenly she wanted nothing more then confirmation that their relationship had been something other than a lie. She reached out desperately again, straining against every barrier that separated them, the physical distance, the emotional distance. She reached across the thread that connected to him, reached until it felt like her very soul was stretched to the breaking point.

And then the connection happened.

It wasn't delicate or straining like whens he was trying to make it. It blazed across her, knocking the wind out from her lungs and draining her almost completely again. Clinging to consciousness she reached out across the blazing connection. She hit something akin to a glass wall. Frantically trying to break through it with the last of her strength she couldn't. Someone pulled her back, yanking her away from whatever she was encountering. She had a second of being awake in the winnebago before her eyes rolled up and she hit the ground, hard.

Outside, Emily looked up frantically. If she had anything left in her stomach she would have emptied it. Unable to, she raced up the stairs and into the bedroom in time to see Sonya physically and mentally yank Sarah back from whatever she was doing. Rolling her eyes, Sonya hauled her into the bed and sighed, closing her eyes. Emily stepped inside delicately and closed the door behind her, sliding the cheap lock shut and sealing the door with magic. Mel could break it but she had a feeling that she wouldn't. Looking at Sonya she sighed and bit her lip.

"Claire did something," she said, "something really bad, I felt it."

"She went back, didn't she?" Sonya asked, accusation thick in her voice.

"How did you know?" Emily demanded.

"Claire and I go back," she said, "I knew her before this 'Claire' spell. She's become Almira Theron again."

"Why would she do that?" Emilly asked, "I mean we haven't seen each other in a while but we all liked Claire--why did she go and become that bitch again?" Sonya snorted, failing to hold back her laughter, "everyone knows about Almira and we all agree the world was far better off without her--even Claire felt that way."

"I know," she said, "but she did it for a reason--" snapping her fingers, she tugged open the door and raced out of the winnebago. Emily immediately dashed after her. Sonya grabbed a cell phone out of her bag and turned it on, waving it around to try and get a signal, "there's no service," she said.

"Give me that," Emily said grabbing it, "you've had her phone number the whole time? Why didn't you call it before?" Immediately five bars lit up.

"I have been, do you think anyone gets any kind of cell phone service? Damn magical interuption," Sonya said punching in the number and placing it on speaker-phone, "okay Almira, lets see if you remember how to use a cell phone."

After three rings, the call went through.

"Hello?" a cautious voice said.

"Ali!" Sonya cried.

"Don't call me that! I hate it when you call me that!" came the angry reply, "besides everyone's calling me Claire for some weird reason and no-one will tell me why except this strange man, but he keeps fainting!"

"Does the strange man have black hair?"

"Yes!"

"Shit," Emily said looking back at the trailer, what Sarah was up to becoming clear, "is he alright?"

"He's fine," she sniffed, "I promise you he's fine now but if someone doesn't start explaining things soon then no-one will be."

"Okay," Sonya said cutting Emily off, "we're going to see you in a day and a half when you meet us at the haunted town," she sighed, "there's another guy with you, Chase Putnam--he's got scars?" she felt bad for only referring to Chase's scars but reasoned they were no different then anything else distinctive, "he knows what's going on."

"Fat chance he'll tell me," she snapped, "he's acting like I killed someone!"

"You kind of did," Sonya reasoned.

"So what? I drowned myself to get my powers back. I didn't realize I would completely forget why I needed them," she sighed, frustrated, "I mean this is just not fair, I should know why I did that."

"What do you remember?" Emily asked patiently.

"Everything's all jumbled up," Claire said, knowing she sounded like a hurt teenager more than anything else, "and I can't make sense of it but never mind," she sighed, "why don't you tell me whose involved and we take it from there?"

"Merrick Corrington," she said, "he was--"

"I remember who he is, bastard," Claire growled.

"Good, and he's with a woman, Vivian Donovan."

"Really?" she sounded impressed, "well then this should be fun. I assume Parker's dead or you wouldn't be talking."

"Chase--the scarred guy--killed him," she said.

"Not ba--" she frowned, "I'm getting another call, can I call you back?"

"Sure but we;ll see each other soon. Make sure that Caleb's awake!"

...The Cottage, Sanctuary...

Claire stared at the number. Her phone was cutting edge but she didn't have any caller ID. Of course there was only one reason she would be getting a call from a 212 number. It was from someone from the Theron Clan. She felt her heart jump at the realization and tried to fight down what was commonly referred to as 'blind panic'. Biting back the possibility of cardiac arrest, she breathed in and made to accept the call. The phone was plucked out of her fingers and the battery disconnected before she could do anything.

"How dare you!" she cried, outraged.

"Are you kidding me?" Chase demanded in disbelief, "you're in Sanctuary for starters and secondly do you want to bring a shitload of Witch Hunters down on us? In case you forgot you're dealing with Warlocks."

"In case you forgot you're speaking to the future ruler of said Witch Hunters, Warlock," she snapped, looking him in the eye.

"If you're the future queen then why did you look so scared?" he questioned.

"Not that I would expect you to understand," she said raising her chin, "but no Clan is without problems, Clan Theron is no different," he raised his eyebrows, "stop doing that," she demanded, "every Clan has problems, why is this so shocking to you? I bet your Covenant is just full of them. Five men in a single room? I'm shocked the Ancient Laws didn't summon someone to come and exterminate you."

"Oh they did," he said, "and then they brought you in to defend us."

"As if I would ever consort with the likes of you."

"You didn't," he snapped, "technically I was dead."

"Oh," she said, sobering slightly, "oh," she continued, realization dawning on her, "you must have been in asleep," she narrowed her eyes, "who put you in that sleep? Is that how you got those scars?"

"Caleb did," he said pointing, "and yes that's how I got these scars."

"Why are you with him?" she demanded, "if he did that to you?"

"Because I deserved it," he said looking at her.

"Really?" she seemed to consider it and then shook her head, "you have far too much emotional attachment in my opinion. How I got here, I'll never understand. I mean honestly, what's wrong with you? How do you get anything done with all this emotional attachment? Don't answer that, it was rhetorical," he sighed and rolled his eyes, "oh stop it with the look, it's not as if I actually want to be here but we're stuck together."

"Why? The door's right there why don't you use it?"

"Because if that bitch Vivian's involved then so am I," she snapped, "now why don't you make yourself useful and tell me why you're looking at my eyes."

"What kind of question is that?" he demanded.

"Most men stare at my breasts, even if it's not on purpose. You seem determined o only look me in the eye and I want to know why," he stared at her in disbelief, "well?"

"I'm not talking about your breasts," he said, "its' completely ridiculous--I don't even know you!"

"And I don't know you," she said, "yet we're stuck together so if we could skip that awkwardness it would be great."

How the hell could he tell her the awkwardness was so necessary he could barely put it into words? How could he tell her what they meant to one another? He didn't know this future Queen of the Witch Hunters--he was a Warlock for Gods sake. He didn't have anything with her either. When Claire appeared he had thought she was still, somehow, Claire but now he knew that was wishful thinking. Whoever this was was not Claire. He was horribly confused because there were moments when he was sure she was Claire and then she would not be. He knew it sounded stupid but in all their time together, the fact that she had once been a Witch Hunter never seemed to actually matter. Suddenly it seemed to be everything. Their pasts hadn't mattered when it had been the three of them. But now it was so different.

"You want to skip the awkwardness? Let me explain this to you: Claire meant something to Caleb and I. She meant something to a lot of people. I know that whatever she did to bring you out was necessary, for some reason. But let me make one thing very clear to you, we don't trust you. None of us know who Almira Theron is and no-one wants to."

"As if I want to know a bunch of mindless Warlocks," she snapped,"I only pray that we finish this soon so we can go back to the sides that make sense."

"Good!"

"Fine!"

Claire turned around, red faced. How was this Warlock getting a rise out of her again and again? Pogue, Kate--hell even Caleb if he were awake, would be polite but cautious. Yet this Warlock had no problem being a complete and total ass to her. Warlocks were stupid, arrogant fools and she was supposed to be better than that. She didn't like where the train of thought--or feeling in her heart--were going with this. The simple idea of why he was so angry was completely insane, it was unheard of and complete--well it was unheard of.

"Guys," Kate said, "Caleb's awake."

"Coming," Claire said walking out of the room, glancing behind her just to make sure Chase was coming as well.

...The Isolde and the Trisan, en route to America...

Vivian sighed and stepped onto the deck of the Tristan. The boat that had been supplied by the Lui Clan glided off silently into the waters. Brushing back her hair, she turned to look at Merrick and frowned. He had been moping, that was the best word for it. She had no patience for mopers, she never had. She had never stooped to such a low, how could she? She had a world to run and mourning the dead would do her absolutely no good. With a soft sound of disgust she walked down below deck.

The Tristan was named in tandem with her sister ship, the Isolde, after two star-crossed lovers who could never really be together. Merrick had always liked the legend, he had a weakness for epic love stories. If the rumors were true and Claire had resurrected herself to regain her powers as the heiress Theron, the he was in for more trouble. Surprisingly, his thoughts turned to the scarred boy, Chase. He knew how he looked at Claire, he knew what that look meant. With a shake of his head, he tried to not think of what that look promised. He was going to have to become more devious if he wanted to beat them, knowing what they were up too.

A few yards away, Chance Teirnan looked away from the mess of the Tristan and tried not to be sick. He had managed to stay out of this stupid game, how he wasn't sure. Parker's death had woken him in the middle of the night, Merrick's rebirth had done the same thing only a few days later. He was horrified and disgusted as his mind showed him what they had done, separately and together. The last thing he ever wanted was to be wrapped up in one of the sick games again. He made a point to avoid them since Parker's stupid game began.

And yet, here he was on the deck of the Isolde sailing towards what would most likely be one of the biggest blood-baths he had ever seen.

Not that he didn't know why, he was the last piece of the puzzle. The middle, forgotten one. No-one really cared about Chance. He had always been the 'wild one' which was a nice way of saying that his powers were the only thing that kept him from being outright disowned by his family. He never had time for the family friends he had been forced to be with, even after they discovered they were a Covenant. He had been out the night his 'brothers' had been slaughtered, out bedding some woman whose name he couldn't even remember. He had come back, gone inside and he had died.

Dying was indescribable. Suffice to say it was nothing he wanted to repeat. Thanks to modern medicine he his death had lasted a minuet, at most. A few volts of electricity later he had been alive in some sense of the word. It hadn't been until Parker's death that he actually woke up. He had been living another life, free from magic. In essence, Parker's death and the opening of that damn locket had woken him back to his old life. Merrick's own resurrection had been the final missing piece. His memories had returned but his old life was really dead. That was something he could barely comprehend. If the whispers were true and Claire had become Almira Theron again, he could only imagine what she was going through.

He hoped she had someone to help her through it.


	9. The start of the next Journey

...The Tristan & The Isolde...

"You look like a lost little girl."

Vivian turned to see Merrick leaning against the railing, cigarette clasped loosely in one hand. She turned back to the sea to hide her disgust at the vile habit. Not to say her brother didn't share the same vice, but she could never understand the reason why people smoked. Looking across the ocean, she exhaled sharply. It was the time before battle that she hated most of all. She hated the times when she could do nothing. She hated feeling helpless. Vivian had been her brother's first experiment, back when they were children. Like Sarah, she had been given the ability to use magic without actually possessing any. It was the fate that befell all the daughters of the Covenants. Her mother had the same problem. Daughters were rare, of course, but they were very useful. Her mother had been the daughter of a Covenant deep in the desert. She breathed Vivian and Parker stories of magic so wild that none could control it. Vivian imagined those were the stories that set Parker off, the stories that inspired him to want to become the greatest Warlock ever.

Being a woman, Vivian had grown up in a backwards world. The last member of the Covenant of the Sky, Sarah, did not know how lucky she was to have grown up far from it. In that world Vivian had only been as good as the future wife she would become. She could only have the dreams of others, not those of her own. Some kind wives gave their daughters away to spare them the pain. Vivian's mother may have been kind, but she was not stupid. She had taught Vivian to use power, in any form she could find it. Parker had given her the power itself, the magic that flowed through him. She was his first experiment when it came to storing power. She was the first time he had found out that power could be stored at all.

"Can you hear me?" Merrick asked stepping forward.

"Unfortunately," Vivian said looking across the ocean.

"Where are they?" Merrick asked, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I want to know where each player is," he dropped his hand and walked away.

She closed her eyes and reached inside herself, to where her magic was pooled. It lay inside her, twisted like a snake. It had taken much to learn to contain the strange power, to learn to be poisoned by it. Slowly she took down the walls she had and reached out with her power, letting it flow around her. Opening her eyes, she pulled with the power, across the sea to where the players were. Her entire body throbbed with the power, senses sharpened beyond belief. It was like a drug flowing through her. She could barely remember to breath. Her heart could have stopped and she wouldn't have noticed. Finally seeing everyone, she paused. Someone with power grabbed her and threw her back. The sights she had seen vanished from her mind as she fell back into her body, her hip connecting with the deck hard.

On the Isolde, Chance felt the twisted magic pull and closed his eyes against the burning. He missed his old life, he missed his family. He wanted to go home with every bone in his body. He hated who he had become, who he remembered he was. He knew he couldn't go home again, no matter how much he wanted too. That home belonged to someone he was not anymore, someone he could never be again. The thought saddened him greatly. He wondered if it were possible, once someone remembered who they used to be, could they ever escape it?

He shook his head and walked down to his cabin. Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen, he scribbled down their co-ordinates for the past few days and the co-ordinates of where they were going. Tearing off the strip of paper, he rolled it up into a tight little roll. Sealing the roll in plastic, he walked back to the bathroom and threw it in the toilet, flushing it into the ocean. High above him, a bird called. Chance opened his window, letting the breeze in fully and hung a pair of red board shorts out the window. Walking up the stairs, he went onto the deck and watched the bird circle once again and dive forward, extending his claws and disappearing beneath the waves. A minuet later the bird re-appeared out of the water, soaring up and out of sight.

...The Cottage, Sanctuary...

Claire woke up gasping for breath, her lungs burning. She knew the magic around her was Vivian's, she would recognize it anywhere. She doubled over, feeling ill at the poison strangling her. Lashing out with her power, she grabbed Vivian across their connected abilities. She grabbed her and she threw her back to wherever she had come from, ripping whatever information she had collected from her mind. The magic fled, leaving her feeling weak and drained. She did not have time to feel weak and drained as the black cloaked figure appeared out of no-where. Claire sucked in her breath, attacking someone while in Sanctuary was unheard of and strictly forbidden. To risk it was to risk certain death. No-one had told the assassin though because they came at her with all the fury of a vengeful spirit. Her power was useless, wiped out as easily as if it had been a mark on a whiteboard. Lurching forward, she rolled away from the attack on clumsy limbs and got to her feet.

"Where's your power now Theron?" the assassin demanded.

Later Claire would be able to analyze why she reacted the way she did. Later she would be able to figure out why her left fist streaked out and slammed into the assassin's face. The assassin was a shadow, by all means her fist should have met nothing but air. Instead it connected with something solid and fleshy, as if the power of the Lui Clan had been reduced to nothing. Unable to marvel at the victory, Claire lashed out again, this time with her foot and managed to bring the assassin to their knees. A few kicks later and they were on their back, choking on their own blood.

"How did you do that?" the assassin spat out before vanishing in a cloud of black.

Claire got to her feet, feeling the blood pound in her ears. Stalking up the stairs, she didn't particularly care who she woke up. She had never been able to remove power from another being, to be able to function free of their abilities. It was the hallmark of a great Witch Hunter and one of the only things she really lacked in her abilities. Heading up the stairs, she prepared to get some answers however possible.

In front of her, light collected and formed into a solid shape. The transformation was slow, an Envoy trick. The first time people witnessed it, they usually thought an angel was appearing to them or something. Claire sighed and sidestepped the light, walking for the stairs. Much quicker, the Envoy appeared on the next stair. Claire frowned, she certainly did not look like the earthrel Envoys she was used to dealing with. This one seemed far more practical then them. Glancing at her wrist, she saw the band aide and raised her eyebrows, Envoys didn't get hurt.

"Hello Claire," the Envoy said smiling, "you don't remember me, do you?"

"No," Claire said.

"I'm here to help you," the Envoy said.

Downstairs the door opened and Pogue walked inside. He was exhausted from his pick up, the shapeshifting was draining to say the least. His body burned from the flight. Walking to the stairs, he just wanted to go upstairs and fall asleep with Kate. He stopped on the stairs and did a double take.

"Emily?" he asked.

"Hi Pogue," she said, not seeming surprised at all to see him, "why don't you go upstairs. Bring Chase down with you," he nodded and walked up the stairs. Emily turned to Claire, "come with me, we have much to discuss," she said leading her down into the moon washed parlor. She stood next to the window, letting the moonlight wash over her like a blanket. Claire stood in front of her, arms loose by her sides, "I suppose the first question, is what do you remember?"

"I remember nothing," Claire said, "no flashed, no feelings--nothing."

"Your memory will return," Emily said, "since you remember nothing currently, I must caution against you asking others for their memories. If someone tells you your memories then they will not be your own, they will just be words that someone has told you. It will not be the same and it will do you no good."

"Tell me something," Claire said, "since you all know each other, do you take pleasure in toying with me? In reminding me that I was this person who meant so much to you? Do you enjoy seeing me struggle with this thing that went against everything I have been taught? Everything I've ever known."

"It is not everything you've ever known!" Emily shouted, "you know more than this, you are more than this! You are not a mindless killer, you never were," she turned around and looked as Chase who walked down the stairs, "Chase."

"Emily," Chase said nodding in greeting, "what's this about?"

"The Guardians were founded on the principle that there is a middle ground. They believe that Warlock, Witch Hunter, Envoy--whatever you were you can change and become something more than that. Their strength is in that, their strength is in the desire towards a common good, the desire for peace," she looked at him and then at Claire, "so Witch Hunter," she said to Claire, "and Warlock," she said to Chase, "you two are officially going to be working together."

"What?" Claire demanded.

"Oh you heard me," Emily said, "the Ancient Laws have decided it as have the Guardians themselves. You two are officially paired up. Wherever one of you goes, the other had better be. You don't breath, you don't eat, you don't sleep, you don't think and you most certainly don't fight without the other," she fixed Claire with her gaze, "if your memory returns then I am happy for you but if it does not then a new bond can be made."

"I'm not bonding with any of you," Claire snapped, "I'm going to kill that bitch Vivian and then I am going home!"

"I cannot tell you about your memories," she said stepping forward, "but here is some food for thought, oh future Queen of the Witch Hunters, why did you resurrect yourself? Sacrifice is foolish if there isn't some one or thing worth sacrificing for," Emily looked at her, "I've known you in two of your lives and heard many things about the others and you are not foolish," she turned to Chase, "until we meet again," she said fading away.

"I hate it when she does that," Chase sighed.

"What's that smell?" Claire asked, breathing in, "I know that smell," she looked at him, "its coming from you."

"It's this herbal paste I put on my scars," he said, "it smells--"

"It smells familiar," she said blinking in surprise, "it smells--" she stopped, "no, no I am not doing this," she said firmly, "there is no way this is happening!" she shook her head, "I have to go."

"You can't go," he said, "remember what she said? As much as I hate to say it, I don't think she was joking. Emily isn't really the joking type."

"Comforting," she said.

"Can I ask you something?" he said, "why are you a Witch Hunter? You don't strike me as the type to just do something because of your family."

"I'm not," she said drawing herself up, "I was a Witch Hunter before I was an Envoy and after. Guardians have a very soft approach, they believe that there is good even in the worst of them. Tell me, Chase, if someone tries to kill innocent people, if they try to murder those who cannot defend themselves, If they succeed and if people die, do they deserve a second chance? What about the ones they hurt, what about the ones who don't get a second chance? The merciless deserve no mercy."

"No," he said looking away, "actually," he looked back at her, "yes. I believe that people can change. There's good in everyone, no matter how much evil they do there is still good in them. They can change if they're given the chance."

"And that's why you're a Warlock and a Guardian," she snapped, "upstairs and downstairs is close enough."

He turned and walked up the stairs, feeling his blood boil at the echo of her words. Someone grabbed his shoulder and he turned around to see Caleb standing there. His eyes told him that he had heard everything. Gripping his shoulder, Caleb turned Chase around to face him. Caleb saw the doubt in Chase's eyes and knew that intentionally or not, Claire's words had hit home. He knew their little family was changing, he knew that things could not be just the three of them anymore. But he was not going to loose either of them. Gripping Chase's shoulders he looked at him.

"You changed," he said firmly, "no matter what she said, you changed. Remember that."

"I will," he said nodding, "I miss her, that's all."

"I know," Caleb said with a sigh, "I know."

Neither of them noticed Claire against the side of the wall. Someone touched her hand and she turned to see Pogue standing there. He took her hand and pulled her down the stairs and out into the night. She followed him into the field surrounding the cottage. Pogue let her hand go and walked forward a few steps before turning around and running his hand through his hair as if torn. Turning around again, he walked back to her and opened his hand. Inside was a slip of paper, rolled tightly and wrapped in plastic. She looked at him before opening the plastic and pulling out the paper.

"Co-ordinates," he said, "for the Tristan and the Isolde, ships carrying Vivian, Merrick and their crew."

"Why are you giving me this?" she asked looking at him.

"I was given it by someone on board one of those ships," he said, "I don't know who."

"Why give it to me?" she repeated.

"Because I know you'll do something about it," he said, "sacrifice is worthless if there isn't someone to worth sacrificing things for," he turned and walked towards the house, "Claire, if there was a place without these rules, without duty, would you be with him?" she looked down, knowing who he was talking about--or at least thinking she did.

...The Winnebago...

Max sighed and ran his hands through his hair. He was feeling off. That was really the only word for what he was feeling at the moment. Off, weak and slightly nauseous. Walking over to his bag, he pulled it open and riffled through it. His hand connected with the tin of spearmint mints. Sonya hated that flavor which was why he chose it. Opening the tin, he turned it over in his hand. What fell out was not a mint. It was a gel cap filled with a substance the color of the midnight sky. Closing the tin, he clasped his hand around the pill and tried to fight back the feelings, he looked carefully over his shoulder. He put the pill in his mouth and swallowed it dry, something that he had learned to do out of necessity.

The pill hit him like a slap. It raced through his blood like fire, burning through his veins. He threw his head back, eyes wide and dark. His lips parted as he breathed in, the breath catching in his throat. The feeling slowly ebbed away, his head coming up again as he looked around the winnebago. Closing his eyes in shame, he zipped up the bag and walked out of the room to find Sonya.

"Who the fuck is doing that?!"

Any kind of power that Reid possessed was currently not working. Since his Addiction, he had been very careful about Using in any way, shape or form. Even so, he could tell when someone was blocking him from doing it. He had ruled out Mel, having seen her disappear with Ed a few hours ago. That, of course, left two possibilities: Sonya and Max. Throwing down the rag he was using , he shoved open the door and walked out of the trailer, looking around. He did not have to look far, the Kendrick siblings were not a quiet pair.

"This is insane!" Max shouted, "do you realize you're talking about killing another person? She's your friend!"

"She is the leader of the Theron Clan! You know what that means!"

"People can change, you should know that!" he countered.

"If she's changed then there's nothing to worry about," she said firmly.

"Sorry to interrupt the family feud but if you could stop blocking my powers that would be great."

Sonya turned around slowly and Max swallowed thickly. Reid felt himself go cold at their expressions but hid it very well.

"We're not blocking your powers," she said looking at the Winnebgao, "Sarah."

"I thought she could Use, not block," he said as they took off for the winnebago.

"No-one knows what these Daughters can do," Sonya said, "Max, go get Mel!" she called over her shoulder.

Racing inside she looked around for Sarah and over to her. She was lying on her back taking choked gasps of air. Reid stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her. Sonya had stopped too but she looked horrified. She was not looking at Sarah but rather at the space around Sarah. Running forward, she ducked besides Sarah, wrapped her arms around her and yanked her off the couch, pulling her to the ground and away from the couch. Her eyes flew open and she lashed out, knocking Reid against the wall. His head hit one of the metal fixtures and he sagged to the ground. Sonya came around Sarah's front and grabbed her shoulders.

"Sarah!" she said firmly.

"Sonya?" Sarah gasped looking around, "what's going on--" she doubled over with a groan, "the power--"

"Okay come on," she said lifting one of Sarah's arms over her shoulder, "lets get you outside, come on," she continued, leader her outside and placing her on the grass, "Sarah? What happened."

"Someone's Using the power," she got out through choked gasps.

"Sarah look at me," Sonya said firmly, "look at me. You're going into shock, I need you to focus on the sound of my voice," she continued, "come on, Sarah stay with me," she looked over her shoulder at Tyler who looked shaken and upset.

"Emily's gone," he said.

"She'll be fine," she looked at the trailer, "i need you to figure out whose Using," she instructed before turning back to Sarah who was lying still on the ground, looking at the sky with wide, unblinking eyes, "Sarah?"

"There's too much pain," Sarah said. Sonya sucked in her breath at the fact that Sara's eyes were darker. Not black, but darker none the less.

"Hold on," Sonya said moving her hands to Sarah's temples, "I'm going to make the pain go away," she leaned forward and kissed her forehead, drawing the magic away with her. Sarah breath out, her eyes closing as she sunk into sleep.

"Sonya!"

Sonya's head flew up as she saw Tyler drag Reid from the trailer. She ran forward and grabbed Reid from him as Tyler fell backwards and rolled away from the trailer. Turning onto all fours, he coughed violently, his black eye flickering a bright red. Sonya dragged Reid away from the trailer, past even Sarah and lay him down on the grass. Tyler crawled forward on all fours to where they were and collapsed onto his stomach, trying to calm his breathing. Sonya fell back on her heels next to Reid and looked at the three of them.

"Sonya! What happened?" Jamie demanded coming up to her.

"Uh well Sarah passed out from near magic poisoning, before she passed out she threw Reid against the wall and knocked him out. I sent Tyler in to figure out who was doing it but God knows."

"Come with me," he said leading her inside the winnebago and into the front section. He reached into a case and pulled out a folder, "I know you got the basic information on the Witch Hunters, but I think that going into this stupidly might be a bad idea," Sonya made no move to take the folder, "alright I see where this is going. Sit," he motioned to the chair which Sonya sat in, "see you have to understand how different Claire was when she was with you--but you already know that," he sighed, "here's the dirty crash course in Witch Hunter 101."

"Wait," Tyler stumbled inside, "i want to hear this."

"Okay," Jamie said, "Clan Theron is very old and very fierce. Some say they're as old as the Power itself. See the Power was whole at one point, very long ago and I mean a very long time ago. No-one really knows for certain, all we know is that the first Witch Hunters were originally Witches and Warlocks. Their intentions were noble, not well thought out but noble none the less. Well Clan Theron was challenged again and again, again and again they fought back. See the Clans, like the Covenants have a nasty habit of trying to kill each other. Unlike the Covenants, the Clans decided to do something about it. They like to joke it's why they don't have to have a Covenant of Silence," he chuckled, but no-one else laughed, "alright so the Clans decide to do strength in numbers and form a binding Alliance. There are many Clans but the major ones, they pulled together and made nice. The Alliance that's in place, it is one of the longest lasting ones. there are a few terms in order for it to function but there is one major, binding term that must be followed and that is the heir. Claire told you she was being groomed to be the heir, well that's a lie she was the heir."

Tyler did not like where this was going.

"See the Clan is, like all Clans, into strength. Since they're descended from the Power, female Clan leaders are very unusual. Not unheard of, but unusual none the less. Girls are taught to be like men, they are taught to be strong and firm and everything but emotional. Claire has been taught to get the job done, no matter what. She's proven herself to her family enough so that her name is on that treaty. If she doesn't follow hr family, if she doesn't accept being the heir, then the Alliance falls apart and when I say that the Clans trying to kill each other is the last thing we want, I mean that."

"Well what can we do?" Tyler asked, "is there anything we can do?"

"There's one more thing," Jamie said reaching into the folder, "I wasn't going to bring this up, I didn't want to bring it up but I think that you need to see--" he handed Tyler a picture.

Tyler took it and raised his eyebrows. It was taken on a beautiful day, on the beach somewhere. Caleb was no-where to be seen, it was just of Chase and Claire. With the sun going down, the wind blowing her hair away from her face, they stood in the water up to their ankles. He couldn't see their faces but he didn't need too. His arms were wrapped around her protectively and her own were twined around his neck. They were kissing. He could see it from the angle of their bodies. He felt his breath catch. Generally speaking he was not a terribly emotional person, but the sheer beauty of the moent would affect even the most detached of them. Looking up at Jamie, he passed the picture onto Sonya and realized what it meant.

"They were lovers?"

"Lovers, soul mates--we don't know the extent of the relationship and it's irrelevant considering by reports she remembers nothing," he sighed, "the fact is that the two of them had a connection. We've sent Emily to go and pair Claire and Chase up--"

"I thought Emily was doing Envoy work."

"Emily is not currently an Envoy," Jamie said, "we don't know exactly what that burn's done to her, magical burns have the bad habit of interfering with work and so for the moment she's off duty for the Envoys and on loan to us," he looked at Tyler, "if she falls, we'll know."

"What about--Chase," Tyler's eyes widened, "something like this--"

"If Chase does anything we'll know about it and deal with it," he looked at Tyler, "people change, that's what they do. We just have to figure out which side he's changing too," he sighed, "look, it'll work out in the end, it always does."

"Yeah," Tyler said, "but that's only because we work our asses off to make sure of it."

"You Empaths spit out one liners better than Charlton Heston," he said, "why can't I get to say anything like that?"

"You're not an Empath," Tyler said.

"Jesus Christ life is just not fair sometimes," Jamie groaned sitting down, "you're unusually quiet, what's going on in that head of yours?" he said to Sonya.

"It's just Claire and Chase?" Sonya asked, "I mean, even before--just I never thought they would," she stopped and shook her head, "Sarah and Caleb is explainable but those two," she bit her lip, "poor Chase."

Tyler had to agree.

When Sarah opened her eyes, she was not lying down, she was standing on a marble floor. She heard voices coming from one of the rooms off her side and she tip toed over, peering inside. There was a woman standing there, wrapped in the embrace of a man. Tears streamed down both of their faces and her heart broke at the sight. The man pulled away slightly and bent down, kissing the woman softly. Sarah's breath caught at the feelings captured in that kiss. FInally the woman pulled away, tears in her eyes and looked at him.

"There has to be another way," she said desperately.

"No," he said, "Andrew and David are already dead. It's only a matter of time before the Hunters come for me and you."

"They'll catch us," the woman said wrapping her arms around herself.

"They will," the man said softly, "but the won't catch her. I know this goes against all our laws, but I can't just let our daughter die."

"No," the woman said walking over to a bassinet and lifting an infant out of it. The infant began to cry and the woman hummed softly, rocking her back and forth. The baby quieted, "I won't let them kill her," she turned to him, "how can this be wrong? How can this be evil?"

"I don't know," the man said closing his eyes.

"Elizabeth, Bram," the figure in a dark blue cloak walked into the room. The man, Bram, placed the two behind him and looked at the figure, "I come in peace," she said, spreading her hands, "I come as one mother to another."

"Claribel?" Elizabeth asked stepping forward, "Bram it's okay, Clara what are you doing here?"

"The Guardians they send have been captured, corrupted. They plan to kill your child," she said looking at the infant, "I cannot take her into my house, there will be too many questions but I can hide her for you. You must trust me, the Hunters are on their way."

"You are a Hunter," Bram said hotly.

"I have a daughter as well," she said drawing herself up, "I was given no choice in my fate, I don't want the same for her. Please, let me help you. I want to be hope our children can grow up in a world where everyone is not divided," she said.

"I want her to be safe," Elizabeth said, "if I won't survive the night then I want you to swear to me that she will be safe and she will know nothing of this world. I want her far away, I want her to have a life--the kind of life that I was never allowed to have."

"She will be safe and far away," Clara said, "does she have a name?"

"Saray--Sarah," Elizabeth said slowly passing the child to Bram, "thank you."

"Thanks are not necessary," she said.

"Can you check on her?" Bram said, his voice thick as he passed his daughter to her, "make sure she's not boy crazy or wearing too tight jeans?"

"I'll do my best," the woman promised, "she won't know I'm there but I'll make sure."

"Thank you," he said.

The woman pulled on her cloak and hurried out. Sarah turned to see Elizabeth collapse against Bram, her sobs echoing down the hall. Sarah followed the blue cloaked woman outside and into the car that was waiting. She caught a glimpse of a little girl inside, no more than a year old, who looked at the infant with confusion. The car drove off and Sarah turned back to the house, clutching a hand to her chest. Feeling the world spin, she prayed she would remember it when she woke up. Closing her eyes, she felt tears leak out the sides of her eyes and wondered if this was what Caleb had felt like when he realized everyone had been lying? She was being strangled, she was being suffocated. Choking back emotion she tried to breath but it came out as a choked sob.

Someone reached out, reaching into the darkness and pulling her out. She let them and instantly found herself crushed against a very familiar chest. She knew it was Caleb. He smelled the same as he had when they were together last, he felt the same. Burying her head in his chest, she felt herself break down. She also felt his arms come around her, holding her up and running down her back. Nothing seemed to matter, not her last angry words to him, not his quick departure, nothing but his arms around her and the gentle vibration of his chest as his voice told her it was okay, telling her that he was sorry. She knew it was real then, when his voice asked her for forgiveness and her own haltingly telling him there was nothing to forgive.


	10. The Mysterious Sickness

...The Cottage, Sanctuary...

It was close to dawn, maybe an hour or two off. Chase had always enjoyed sleeping, so he was confused when his eyes opened of their own accord to the moonlit room. There was nothing out place, no indicator as to why he had woken up. Closing his eyes, he tried to go to sleep and only had them open up again a breath later. With a sigh, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and ran his hands over his face. Getting to his feet, he walked down the stairs to the living room and stopped. Claire was pulling on her shoes, fully dressed and about to leave. Folded next to her on the couch was a blood red cloak. He felt his insides twist, he knew that she was leaving. She turned and glanced up at him over her shoulder before turning back to her shoes.

"W--"

"I know why I resurrected myself," she said standing up but making no move to go for the cloak, "Vivian tried to spy on everyone involved, I threw her back she's twisted the Power, made it into something un-nautral, something that none of you will be able to fight," he opened his mouth, "oh you may get a few lucky shots off, hurt some of her people but it won't be enough."

"Why aren't the Envoys doing something?" Chase demanded.

"I don't know and I don't have time to find out. Clan Theron and the Alliance Hunters are picky about which jobs they take, they think they're better than everyone else. They won't come to this, not until Vivian and Merrick try to take over the world and by then there's a good chance it will be too late," she sighed, "so I'm going to get help."

"Help? From a bunch of Witch Hunters?"

"I am a Witch Hunter," she snapped.

"You're a Guardian, there's a difference," he shot right back.

"Then let me do my job!" she cried before realized they were in a house full of sleeping people, "whatever I am, whatever I was--whatever I will be, I will not sit by and let these bastards take over the world. Now they have an unfair advantage, quite a few actually. What you want to do is brave but its suicide," she grabbed the cloak, "I'm going to level the playing field."

"You can't go," he said, "if you go for wherever it is, someone's going to try and kill you--what about your crew of Hunters? Something tells me they're not aching to have you back."

"Actually they are," she said, "see my name's on that Alliance, no matter how many siblings I have by now--and knowing my father I have quite a few--my name is the only one that matters because without me that Alliance goes to hell. So I'm going to get some help from the Witch Hunters."

"What about us? An entire Covenant is going to be there--my Covenant. What happens when your Witch Hunters are done with Vivian? Who do you think they're going to go after next? Since you've forgotten, I'll remind you that the Covenant of Ispwitch is not the joke it once was. How do I know you're Hunters aren't going to start an all out war with us?"

"You have a point," she said nodding, "well you'll just have to come with me."

"Come with you?" he demanded, "are you kidding me? You're going to Witch Hunter city, something tells me that I'm not going to be welcome there," he finished crossing his arms, "me being a Warlock and all."

"I thought you were a Guardian," she said, "as a Guardian they technically can't touch you, so you'll be fine."

"I'm not going," he said. She rolled her eyes and from no-where produced a gun. Something told him that his healing would be useless as she backed him up against the wall.

"You're coming with me, the very simple question you have to answer is whether you come as my Guardian partner or as my Warlock bounty. It makes no difference to me."

"I'll go with Guardian partner," he said.

"Good choice," she said lowering the gun, "lets go," he raised his eyebrows, "oh you want to wait, for what exactly? We have to make it out of Sanctuary before a helicopter can come and get us. No we can't just transport ourselves to the Witch Hunter location--well we could but unless we've got a damn good story this will go to hell. Now we have to think up a plausible one before we get there so lets go."

"What about the others?" he asked.

"I've left a note. I didn't say that you were coming with me, I only told them where they would land."

"You're setting them up," Chase said, realization dawning on him, "you're using them as bait."

"To be frank I was going to use you too," she said. He raised his eyebrows at the statement, "you need to understand something or we're not going to get very far. When my memories come back, this is still going to be me. I wish I was able to focus on remembering but right now we need to save the world and if I have to sacrifice you or anyone else to make sure that happens then so be it," she sighed, "now partner or bounty?"

"I am no-one's bounty," he snarled.

"We'll see," she said, "come on."

She led them out and down the hill. They cut through the woods towards the break in whatever magic protected Sanctuary. Despite knowing this was the only thing to do, Chase couldn't help but feel that this was a bad idea. In his mind he considered all the people who wanted them dead and realized that maybe things hadn't changed so drastically. Killing herself for the solution to a problem was actually a very Claire-thing to do. She walked the same too, he knew it was an odd thing to notice but she did. Claire had always had a very distinct walk, something he had always noticed, even if it was just out of the corner of his eye. She also happened to be fast as hell which hadn't changed either.

"Why the red?" he asked finally.

"The Alliance Clans all have these," she said, "back from, well, back from whenever. They're quite the fashionable bunch," she said, "you should see what they make the Leader's wear," she sighed, "this is the least 'impressive' garment they could think of," she smirked, "as you can see, the Clan was run by men during a very crucial time."

"I can see that," he said looking back at the cottage.

"Your friend swill be fine," she said, "even if they leave Sanctuary, Vivian knows I'm here and she will not attack without me."

"How can you be sure?" he asked.

"She's already sent one assassin for me," she said looking away, the coldness around her falling like the cloak, "no matter how many she sends she's going to want to kill me herself," she looked at him, "which means your friends will be fine until we return."

He sighed and followed her through the trees. She didn't stop, gave no indication of any kind of suspicion. He wouldn't have known if it wasn't for the glint of silver that appeared in her hand. She pivoted on her heel and spun around in a blur of red, thrusting the sword into the stomach of the man standing behind him. Chase sucked in his breath, the man's eyes were completely black. His teeth were bared in a snarl as he wrapped his hands around the hilt of the sword and pulled it out of him, bringing it around and thrusting at her. A second blade appeared in her hand and she blocked him. The swords met again in a clash of silver before both spun away and retaliated. She was the more graceful of the two, but the man had a stillness about him as if he were toying with her. Finally the blades came to rest at the hollow of each person's throat. The man smirked in triumph and Claire's foot snapped up, if not hurting then surprising him at the very least. He dropped the sword and she sliced her blade out, coming within a millimeter of his neck.

"You need to work on your self control," the man snapped getting to his feet.

"And you need to learn the meaning of the phrase 'do not sneak up on me'," she growled, "where the hell are your pills Max?"

"Long story," he sighed and raised his eyebrows, "so the rumors are true, I thought Mel was joking."

"Oh no," she said crossing her arms, "Mel wasn't joking."

"Pity," he said, "you know if you go to the Witch Hunters, Mel's going to have to sent someone to kill you," he sighed, "she thinks you know too much about everyone to be allowed to play one side," he turned his head away, "come on Claire, don't do this."

"Don't do what?" she demanded, "go back to the Clan? Stop Vivian? You'll have to be a hell of a lot more specifi--" the words trailed off as she looked at the arm across her chest. She turned to see Chase, but his eyes were on the man.

"I'm going with her," Chase said, "I'll make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."

"You must be Chase," he said turning his black eyes to him, "I must say, the stories I've heard of you make you into quite the legend. Do you know that when they talk of the Redemption of Ipswitch, it's your name they mention first?" Chase mentally begged him not to say anymore, "if even half the stories are true then you are truly a great man. I'll tell Mel about this but what she does with the information is up to her."

WIth that he vanished and Claire turned to Chase.

"Aright let me explain something to you just so there's no confusion," she sighed, "they aren't going to care how fantastic a Guardian you are, the best that'll do is keep you from being killed in your sleep," she ran her hands over her face, "well not they, that's too strong a word. See they--Clan Theron--may have a less than perfect reputation but they do not attack unprovoked and it takes a lot to provoke them. They take care of their own," she bit her lip, "it's the Clan leader, my father, he's ruthless and arrogant which we can use but your presence their will not sit well with him."

"What about your presence? Something tells me that you won't sit well with him either."

"No," she said looking down, "it will not sit well with him but I've dealt with him before," she added, "you haven't. Now I need your word that no matter what you see you won't let it traumatize, scar or otherwise freak out on me. The first rule of dealing with anyone with an ego is to never, ever look impressed. Can you do that?"

"I'll manage," he said, "now why don't you tell me why you left?"

"I thought Mel would've told you," she said.

"Well considering what I hear about you and your Clan through other people seems to be either greatly exaggerated or complete bullshit, I'd rather hear it from you."

"Second rule," she said, "no matter what, be as impressive and fantastic as people say you are, it makes them much easier to deal with," she turned and began to walk again, "my Clan like the Ocean, don't ask me why, but they do. We're headed to one of the strongholds which is a city hidden inside a Cove," she stopped and turned around, "If, one day, we go to war and you attack that place I will personally make sure your death is excruciating," she turned back and kept walking, "anyway, Clan Theron love the ocean, which is really a glorified way of saying we love to drink, sing off key and get into the occasional brawl when we're not fighting Warlocks. The reason we're the most powerful Clan is because when it comes to fighting others we're very good at it--also at negotiating but those skills are limited to a select few."

"Well why were you kicked out?"

"I was in love," she said, "or thought I was," she continued, "I could have gone back, I still can--obviously--but I didn't because I believed that there was a better solution then the one my forefather's came up with," she sighed, "oh I know the Guardians are here and all that fun," she glanced at him, "but if they're doing such a bang up job, then why are we trekking to go and get help?" he was silent, "look this will never work if we're fighting all the time so how about we call a truce?"

"Fine," he said.

"That's not very truce-like," she commented, "I've obviously done something to offend you and I'm sorry but you're acting--" she stopped.

"I"m acting like what?" he demanded.

"You're acting like I killed your lover!" she got out. His head turned away as if she had slapped him, "no," she breathed, "no, absolutely not, you and I?" she ran a hand through her hair, "it's completely insane! Even before--I was still a Witch Hunter."

"And I was a Warlock," he said turning to her, "and we were both Guardians along with Caleb," he continued, "and we were in love," the world tasted foul on his tongue, speaking it aloud to someone who was looking at him as if he had just told her the moon was made of cheese. Running his hand over his face, he shook his head, "I know you don't believe me," he said, "how could you? You're a Witch Hunter. But you know Parker Donovan? The one who was hunting you?"

"Yes," she said slowly.

"I killed him," he said firmly, "you know why? I killed him to protect--to save--you."

"No-one---" she began.

"Ever saves me," he finished, "yes you told me that a few days later when I set out to find Caleb and you followed me. You said I was the first person to ever rescue you."

"This explains a lot," she said, "you cared so much," she continued and he opened his mouth, "even Caleb didn't argue with me--" she covered her mouth with her hands, "I remembered the smell of you first--" she stepped back, "you're a Warlock," she gasped, "how can I go back if I'm--"

"You're not," he said brushing past her and stopping, "we don't even know each other. The woman I was in love with," he sighed and turned around, "the woman I was in love with is dead."

"And I killed her?" she demanded, trying to summon anger and failing miserably, "I did," she said softly, "I took her away and every time you look at me, its like watching her die over again," she shook her head, "I hate forbidden, epic romance for a very good reason! Every time it happens--" she stomped her foot, "nothing good can come of this forbidden, whatever, it is!"

"Obviously," Chase pointed out.

"Well you know what the solution is don't you?" she snapped.

"No, enlighten me," he said raising his eyebrows.

Of all the things he expected to happen, of all the possible outcomes, Claire grabbing his shoulders and pressing her lips to his was not one of them. His eyes widened in shock before slowly closing as his arms pulled her flush against him. She deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. They were in the woods, about to head off to one of the Witch Hunter strongholds and yet, none of that seemed to matter. His mind had gone blissfully blank at the familiar motion, blank save for one thought: she tasted the same. Somewhere along the line, the kiss turned from heated to comforting and all that mattered was the feeling. Her hands against the back of his neck, his own tracing some invisible pattern across her back. They broke apart and stared at each other.

Back at the cottage, Sarah wrapped her arms around herself and leaned against the window. The room was silent and empty, thick with anticipation. She wished it were calm, she needed the calm after what she had just seen. Her parents giving her away to spare her life, knowing they would be dead within hours. Bram and Elizabeth, the names sounded so strange when associated with her parents--her parents. She had never wanted to find them, she told herself she didn't need to find them and look where it got her. She was some kind of twisted version of a princess, that was what her name meant. She had just never thought it would be literal. Saray--Sarah, so close yet so completely different. Her musings were cut short by the sound of a door opening.

Sarah turned around to face him. She was still not used to his appearance, he looked so different. It wasn't just the obvious wings. He was more muscular than when they had parted, his hair was longer and his eyes were so haunted. They hadn't spoken, actually, since she had fallen into his arms. Suddenly she wasn't too sure that she was right to forgive him so quickly. It was unsettling to think that once again he had saved her. Forcing herself to let her arms fall down to her sides, she settled herself for what she anticipated to be nothing short of a battle. Legendary tortured Guardian or not, he wasn't getting off the hook easily.

"Hello Caleb," she said looking at him squarely.

"Hi," he said, for a moment looking like the eighteen year old boy who had left them all those years ago.

"How could you just leave us like that?" she burst out going toe to toe with him, "how could you just walk away like we were nothing! Did we--did I ever mean anything to you?!"

"What?" he breathed.

"I mean one minuet you're there and the next you're gone. We don't hear a word for six years! Six years!" she cried desperately, "you just left us! Do you have any idea what we've been through?! There is no more Covenant of Ipswitch! We're scattered like leaves to the wind, like we never knew each other! You were supposed to be there damn it! You, Chase, Claire--you were supposed to be there!"

"I wanted to be there!" he shouted back, his eyes blazing, "you think this has been easy for me? That I haven't spent every breath thinking, dreaming, of seeing you again?! I've been in hell for the past six years!"

"And whose fault is that?!" she demanded.

"What the hell was I supposed to do?!" he demanded, "I'm not like my father--I couldn't just sit back, get Addicted and die! I had to do something with it," she opened her mouth but he rambled on, "I don't regret doing something good with the Power, I don't regret finding a way to use it to help people But leaving everyone behind, especially you was the hardest thing I've ever done! I wish to God I had found another way to do it."

"Was it worth it?" she questioned, but her voice sounded weak even to her.

"No," he said looking at her squarely.

What the hell was she supposed to say to that? No? She wished he had said it was worth it, she wished he had said that he would do it again, she wished he had said anything but no. It wasn't only the word, it was the way he said it as if he had never been more sure of anything in his life. The fact that he wasn't walking away seemed to cement his words. It would be so easy for him to walk away from the room, go downstairs or far away. But he was still standing there. She let out the breath that she had been holding and looked away, trying to figure out where to go next.

"I found my parents," were the words that came out of her lips. He was silent, "it turns out I'm the last member of a Covenant," she kept her face away, not wanting to see his reaction to her words, "I can Use, but I need a source of Power," she closed her eyes and turned to face him, "a source like you."

"No," he said, "I know what you're about to say and the answer is no."

"But it would explain why we connected," she said.

"I know I hurt you," he said, "but we were in love, if you don't believe anything else then believe that."

"I want too," she said closing her eyes, "I really want too but I don't remember what it feels like," she said, "I haven't felt anything in years, I don't remember what it feels like to do anything but exist--I'm numb and I hate it!"

"I know," he said.

"How could you possibly know?!"

"Because I'm just as numb!" he shouted, "knowing you hate me is the first time I've felt something, anything in six years!" she turned her head like she had been slapped, his words stinging worse than any physical blow could blow.

"I wish I could hate you!" she said turning to face him, "I wish every day that I could hate you! Hating you would be easy! I keep telling myself that I could move on! That I could put all this behind me like some bad dream if only I could stop loving you!"

It was Caleb's turn to be speechless.


	11. City By the Sea

...City of the Sea, Parrot Cove...

His fingers strummed the guitar, coaxing melodies from strings that would never play for anyone else. Grizzled and mangy, he looked far better suited as an old drunk then as a watchman. The last man who had suggested he find other employment had quickly found another world to inhabit. This was his place, overlooking the ocean, this was where he belonged and he would be damned if he let another take it over. Besides, anyone who was stupid enough to approach Parrot Cove knew what was inside or they wouldn't have dreamed of coming near the mountains. Oh Clan Theron had many other strongholds but this was an old favorite, a relic from days long past. Personally, he thought the world would be far easier if things were the same as when the City was made.

Glancing idly down, he was surprised to see two figures making their way across the rocks. He frowned as he looked down at them. The Clan was in a virtual lock down and anyone wearing the cloak of the Clan would not be traveling at this hour to begin with. Using, he found a helicopter taking off a few miles back. His eyes narrowed, no-one would be stupid enough to use a helicopter, it was too risky. His eyes widened in shock as he got to his feet, waving the guitar away. It couldn't be, not after all these years--but as he watched them make their way towards him the more he was convinced it was. Finally they were within earshot and he listened in.

"Look I don't know when they're going to return," she snapped turning around to face him, "I mean maybe they won't come back."

"Everyone's memories come back," he replied, "besides if I remember correctly, you remembered how I smell."

"Remembering how you smell and remembering that we had an intimate relationship are two very different things," Claire said turning to face him.

"I told you that we didn't have an intimate relationship," Chase said, "in fact, I think this may be the longest amount of time we've spent alone--ever."

"Since my memories are a little--uh--missing, remind me of why that is again?" she said sarcastically.

"I don't know, just things got in the way."

"You mean like Boyscout?"

Chase shook his head and hid his laughter. Claire may not have remembered much, but her wicked tongue had come back as soon as she started to let her guard down around him. Neither of them liked to wait, that certainly hadn't changed, so it didn't take them very long to start to trust each other. After the kiss it had pretty much happened. Now he could sing three Theron 'ballads' in his sleep and found out that she was actually, deep down, not as different from the Claire he knew as he feared. He did his best to explain their relationship, though trying to explain it even to himself turned out to be an extremely complicated feat. He managed to explain that they were in love but not in the most technical sense. She seemed surprised but had let him tell his--their--story. Then they had started trekking towards wherever they were going.

"Among other things," he said shooting her an apologetic look.

"Yep," she said looking up at the doors.

"Do we knock?" he asked.

"No," she said.

"Before we--uh--go in there," he said turning to her, "if they decide to kill me, I want you to know that--"

"Again with the forbidden love, what did I tell you about no emotional attachment?"

"As if you're not attached to me," he said smirking.

"Maybe a little bit," she said returning the smile, "enough so that I'll make sure no-one's going to kill you."

"Well I want you to know that when I look at you, I don't see you killing anyone anymore," he said with a shrug, trying to make his words sound light-hearted, "I do see someone I'd like to get to know better," he looked over as the doors creaked, "preferably in this life and not in the next one."

"Like I'm going to let anyone kill you after that," she said lacing her fingers with his, "i swear you have the worst timing," he opened his mouth, "not you as a Warlock, you as in Chase you."

"Well yours isn't spectacular either," he shot back.

Their argument was cut off as the massive doors opened. Claire had expected for her father to make them walk through the city like some kind of spectacle. It was clear that he expected to not let them in the city at all. She felt Chase squeeze her hand and squared her shoulders. It seemed like her entire life had been leading up to this one moment. The man that walked out wearing the red and gold ornate cloak looked like an older, male version of Claire. Somehow Chase had always expected her to look like her mother, but apparently she took after her father. From the expression on his face, she took after him in more ways than one. Chase felt slightly sick at the coldness in the man's eyes. The rush of wind across his palm made him realize she had let go of his hand, the coldness falling around her like a cloak again.

"The world is thick with anticipation and my daughter comes to the house of her father," he turned to Chase, "and brings a Warlock with her? What madness is this?"

"I am resurrected," she said bowing deeply. He reached out and touched her forehead with his finger.

"I see," he said lowering it, "you've spent time with the Guardians now too? Is there a world you don't whore yourself out too?"

"I don't whore myself to anyone," she said standing, "who I choose to work for is a different matter." he raised his eyebrows skeptically, "who I choose to lead is as well."

"I see you remember the Alliance," he said.

"I see you still haven't found a way around it," she said glancing at his entourage, "or you would have killed me the moment I approached the door. Now when you let me inside I will tell you how we can finally finish off the Covenant of Salem," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, "I know where they're going to land and who they're going to attack," she smiled slowly, "and I know how to kill them."

"Well," he said after a pause, "it seems you've made yourself useful again daughter," he looked at Chase, "and you must be the infamous Chase Putnam," he continued. Claire turned to look at Chase who suddenly found it hard to breath, "I don't suppose you realize the kind of trouble you put this world through," he said, "I don't think I've ever met a Warlock whose single handedly tipped the Balance as drastically as you did."

"In all fairness," Chase said, "I wasn't alone in tipping it."

"No," he said nodding, "no you weren't alone but I doubt things would have happened as drastically if it had been anyone else," he shrugged, "you seem to inspire action in those around you," he looked at Claire, "whether its good or bad, remains to be seen. But for the moment the two of you are welcome inside," he motioned to the gates, "come, we have much to discuss."

...The Winnebago...

Groaning Reid opened his eyes and looked at the inside of the trailer. From the angle of the light he had either been out for a very long time or no time at all. Carefully he swung his legs around and got to his feet. The trailer was completely silent which was unusual considering how loud everyone normally was. He felt like he had a hangover. Carefully he he walked to the door and tugged it open, going out into the bright sunlight. He shielded his eyes and looked around, but his eyes only found Sonya. She was sitting with her back to the trailer, arms wrapped around her legs and her eyes focused in between her hands.

"Where is everyone?" he asked running his hand across the back of his neck.

"Out and about," she said, "I have no idea," she sighed, "I think they went off to try and figure out the next move," she said and looked down at her hands again, "they left me to babysit."

"I don't need a babysitter," he said.

"Oh really? You've been completely out for the past day," she said, but her voice wasn't as harsh as it should've been.

"Alright what's going on?" he asked suspiciously, walking over to her and sitting down, "you don't sound as vicious as you normally do."

"I'm fine," she said closing her hands instantly. He rolled his eyes with a soft sound, "what?"

"You're holding the locket," he said sounding harsher than he planned.

She sighed and extended her legs, moving her hands to her lap and opening them to reveal the locket cradled in her palms. He looked at the small trinket, the thing that had changed their lives so drastically. Her eyes were fixed on it. She hadn't been crying, he knew that much, but she had obviously been fixed on the locket. He wondered how long she had been carrying it around and realized she had most likely had it on her since Parker finally died. Then he noticed that by her side she had a tin of spearmints and one of her other hands was absently traced the letters on the cover. He knew she hated spearmints.

"Finally decide to try them again?" he asked nodding towards them, desperate for something else to talk about.

"No," she said hollowly, "they're Max's," she hung her head, "and they're not mints--" she exhaled sharply, "they're pills, suppressants to keep the effects of a curse back. All this time I wondered why he was suddenly willing to hear me out, why he suddenly believed me. I just never thought, never in a million years, that he would be so sick."

"I thought he was cursed," Reid said.

"For someone like me--someone like him--there's very little difference," he gave her a blank look, "Max and I, we're immune to the Power. unfortunately that makes it very easy for us to be possessed. We can't co-exist with magic because we're the opposite of it," she shook her head, "I mean there are ways to exist with the power but they're dangerous and he doesn't know about them obviously, but I do," her face contorted, "i don't understand why he didn't just tell me! I could've helped him!"

"Who knows," Reid said, 'what do you mean by 'ways to exist with the power'?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes and reached to her shirt, pulling it open to expose her hip. Tattooed on it was a four point star, done in a strange ink that looked different from his tattoos. He felt a tug somewhere inside and strongly reminded himself that she had left. She had left just like Caleb and they hadn't seen each other since. In fact, if he hadn't gone to look after Tyler, they wouldn't have seen each other again. Dimly he realized she was talking and tried to focus on her voice.

"It's a way to help control," she said, "it amplifies my own ability and helps me regulate it," she sighed and let her shirt drop, "it's not just you all who have had manifestation of whatever was in that Locket," she said, "Claire, Mel and I have had symptoms, though I doubt Claire's let on with the others," she looked at the locket in her hand, "i tried to throw this thing away in a river once," she said rubbing her thumb across the surface, "I was about to and then I realized that there was no way this was over," she shook her head, "I want it to be over so badly."

"Do you still regret coming into this whole world?" he asked.

"Sometimes," she said, "sometimes I--" she shook her head.

"You what?" he asked.

"Sometimes I do wish I had kept running, that I had just found another town, another place," she rubbed her eyes, "and then I realize that would have solved nothing. I could have run forever but he would've caught me eventually. I'm glad that when he did catch me was able to do something," she looked at him, "I'm not sorry that Chase killed him though," she said, "Even if it had come down to my life or his, he would have been the one to walk out of it alive."

"You realize that not killing is usually a good thing," he said.

"I know," she sighed, "but you'd think after everything that's happened I'd at least be able too," se shrugged, "well no matter, it's not as if I've got people still fighting for the right to kill me," she carefully got to her feet, "I should go and put these back."

He nodded and she walked inside the trailer, replacing the tin before turning around and almost smacking into Max. She sucked in her breath at the sight of her brother with his fully black eyes. He was looking at her almost desperately, she could see the cuts on his face and the odd angle of his right arm. Slung over his left shoulder was the familiar body of Emily. He opened his mouth, a small trickle of blood escaping down his lip, his face contorted in horror before he fell to the ground.

"Max!" she cried falling to her knees next to him, "Max talk to me!"

"I saved her," he coughed, "he was going to kill her," he got out, "I'll be fine, the good side of being cursed," he closed his eyes, "its happened before, I just need sleep," Sonya nodded and grabbed him, hauling him to the couch, "I'm sorry I didn't--"

"Sleep," she said firmly, "I'm going to give you the worst tongue lashing you've had since the famous Barbie-incident when we were 12 when you wake up."

"Okay, 'night," he sighed, "and I won that argument."

She rolled her eyes and turned Emily over. The Envoy was feverish but alright. She wasn't unconscious but doubled over in pain, clutching the locket burn to her chest. her breath came in harsh, ragged gasps as her nails left red-moons down her forearm. The burn wasn't just natural or power but something in between. Sonya tried to move Emily's hand but the Envoy had a death grip on her arm and refused to budge it. Words were escaping through her harsh pants, muffled by her clenched teeth. Sonya leaned down, putting her ear next to her lips.

"He's after Reid," she made out.

...The Cottage, Sanctuary...

Caleb Danvers was speechless.

In all his incarnations, in everything he had done, he had never been dumbstruck by anyone but Sarah. He had met the head of the Witch Hunters, he had destroyed some of the most powerful threats the Magical world had ever seen, he had redeemed his entire Covenant--he had done some incredible things, by anyone's standards. And yet, facing Sarah, none of it seemed to matter. How the hell could those simple words knock the wind from him so easily? The only thing that could possibly be worse was the fact that he could come up with no reasonable response. He had had a good reason for leaving, he had a reason that made sense even too her and the best response he could come up with was:

"Huh?"

Despite the fact that she was furious, embarrassed and had a million things she wanted to make sure he understood, the fact that Caleb Danvers's best response to their argument was 'huh' made her struggle not to smile. Something inside her was relieved to know that somewhere under all that power and sorrow and pain, he was still there. He seemed to realize that she was struggling not to laugh and in the next surprise of the night, he felt his cheeks burn slightly. Sarah covered her lips with her hands and looked away, feeling herself blush in response. Glancing over at him, she bit her lip and lowered her hand slowly, letting it drop by her waist.

"You look different," she said finally.

"Yeah," he said scratching the back of his neck.

"About before," she began.

"I deserved it," he said and she nodded, "aside from--" he stopped, "how have you been?"

"I'm alright," she said, "what about you?"

"Same," he said.

"Claire and Chase are gone," Pogue called from downstairs.

"Oh no," he said looking horrified.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"Claire doesn't remember anything past leaving the Witch Hunters," he said, "if she's gone to the Hunters," he trailed off but Sarah understood, nodding. He pulled open the door and she followed him. He stopped, his hand gently encircling her wrist, "I-" he stopped, "I missed you," he said softly.

"I missed you too," she said turning her wrist and entwining their fingers, "come on."

Together they headed downstairs.


	12. Stalemate

...City by the Sea, Parrot Cove...

It was so odd to be 'home' again. Claire had only gone to it as a place to visit, never living there for an extended period of time. But even so she could say that it was one of her favorite places to go. Currently she was walking along one of the piers, idly examining the ships coming in from the outside world. At the end of the pier she stopped, her ears picking up the voices of two men who were cleaning up for the night.

"Can you believe she's back?" one asked.

"Hey I'm glad," the other said, "can you imagine who else we'd get when the King died?"

"I don't want to," came the reply, "but did you see who she's got with her?"

"The scarred one? What about him?"

"That's the fifth bloodline for the Covenant of Ipswitch," he chuckled, "if she had to bring some piece of filth back with her, at least it's one that can be of some use," he snorted, "Chase Collins--well I reckon he's Putnam now--was the one who tried to kill off the Covenant of Ipswitch. He caused that big shockwave about seven years ago, after Caleb Danvers practically killed him."

"Well at least he's got some interesting marks out of the deal," the other reasoned.

Claire sucked in her breath and hurried down the docks. She meant to go to her room, to sift through her thoughts and figure out what the hell to say to him. She didn't expect her traitorous feet to carry her to his door. Not one for drama, she immediately knocked before she stopped herself. After a minuet he opened the door, wearing nothing but a pair of pajama bottoms. She opened her mouth and immediately shut it. He seemed to realize that something was up and stepped aside, holding the door open. He closed it behind them and turned to her.

"I heard two men on the dock," she said finally, "talking about you," she continued, "they called you Chase Collins."

"And you want to know why," he said.

"They were talking about," she ran her hand over her face, "they were talking about how you got those."

"What do you want now?" he demanded.

"I want to understand," she said.

He sighed and turned away, walking over to the window, bracing his arms against the sill. Part of him wanted to tell her that he couldn't because of the role she had played. It quickly became clear that she was not referring to the events following his duel with Caleb but the events proceeding it. His Addiction, the deaths of his adoptive parents, the death of the kid at the Dells, his father willing him his powers, torturing Kate, Pogue, Sarah and dueling with Caleb--all the things that still haunted him. He closed his eyes and felt his nails dig into the the wood as he tried to figure out how to tell her that he wouldn't explain this. He hadn't explained it to anyone, even Caleb seemed to understand his need for silence on the matter.

"You want to understand?" he growled, "you want to understand what it's like to go our entire life not knowing why these horrible things keep happening. You want to understand what it's like to have the only people who ever cared about you, the only people who ever loved you, die because of your so called 'gift'?! How about when the one living member of your family tracks you down like a dog, explains everything to you and then kills himself by Willing you his power?" he motioned to his face, "look at me! You think these scars are only on the outside?! I tortured people! I killed people!" he turned away before turning back to her, "There are nights when I can't even close my eyes without seeing them. Now tell me," he said turning around, "how the hell can you understand that?"

Whatever explanation she had thought, whatever words she had expected, those were not them. For a moment that seemed to go on forever, she was silent. Then his last words finally made it through the shock. 'How the hell can you understand that?'. Closing her eyes, she told herself that what she was about to do wasn't a horrible idea. She couldn't look at him when she did it, if she did she would loose whatever nerve she had. She brought her thumb to her lips before running it over the inside of her wrist. The old scar was small. barely visible against the tanned skin and hidden under other marks, but it was there none the less.

"I was thirteen, maybe fourteen," she said, "when I killed for the first time. It was before I was an Envoy, when I still had this glorified idea of what being a Witch hunter was. I begged my father to let me go with him one night on a raid, I said I could handle it. He forbid me, he said I needed to practice more. That wasn't what I wanted to hear but I did it. My training master paired me up against another boy, a few years older than me," she shook her head, "I don't remember who unblocked the swords, making them sharp. I don't think it matters who it was. I remember everything in that moment, every feeling that went through me as I attacked him. He screamed," she stopped, "just once, he screamed when my sword went through him. His sword cut my wrist when he went down," she sighed, "I thought the blood on my hands was mine," she closed her eyes, "I've killed since then, as you probably know. There are nights when I can't sleep either, but the worst are when I think of that boy."

He was silent.

"You were Addicted to the Power--"

"That's not an excuse," he spat.

"Like hell it isn't!" she shot back, "You were probably Addicted from the first time you Used. And then Ascending?" she snorted, "do you have any idea the kind of wreck that Caleb was after he did it alone?! Emily said it was days before he could even

stand up strait--" she clapped her hands over her mouth and jumped back.

"Emily?" he demanded, "how did you--"

"I have no idea," she said, "I just--I knew," she looked at him, "I don't remember any more."

"Its okay," he said quickly, grateful for the change in subject, "you're getting flashes, that's a good thing right?"

"Nice change of subject, " she said.

"Can't blame me for trying."

"No," she said.

"Your Highness," someone said through the door, "they've projected the arrival, it's sooner than we thought."

"Give me a minuet!" she called through the door.

"Of course," he said and she turned to Chase.

"We should," he motioned to the door.

"Everything we do makes us who we are," she said putting her hands on his shoulders, "what you did is in the past and from what I've seen you've made up for it. Caleb, Pogue--even Kate, they care about you," she smiled, "as do I," she said firmly, "now we have to fix the problem at hand."

"We?" he asked.

"Yes, we," she said, "we have to go to the Council and speak with them," she said, "and then we are coming back here," he suddenly found it hard to breath as her fingers began to trace some invisible pattern on his scars, "did I ever tell you how attracted I am to men who have scars," her other hand came around his back, "and tattoos?"

"Really?" he asked, his voice almost breathless.

"I can be very jealous," she said, "so it's a good thing I have them too," she brushed her lips across his, moving his hand to her hips.

Suddenly his mind was on how long it would take to figure out a plan.

...The Winnebago...

"How are they?" Reid asked.

"They'll live," she said, "Emily said they were after you."

"What?" he demanded.

"That was my response," she said, "but it makes sense. Merrick's not an idiot, he's going to need a lot of power despite Vivian's, shall we say, talents. And you, you're the most powerful one remember?"

Oh he remembered. He did his best to forget but he remembered. Reid had been Addicted to his power, for reasons that no-one had known. It turned out that his father, sensing his own Addiction and not wanting to wind up like Caleb's dad had taken an easy way out. He had willed Reid his power--when Reid was only a few years old. No-one had known that while his friends were adjusting to their power, growing with it, he had the full power of his father inside him Caleb's father had willed him a considerable amount of power, as had Chase's father, but both of them ad been Addicted for a very long time. Reid's father on the other hand still had almost all his power. They had been told that the power wears down the body, not the other way around. But Reid's father had been healthy and young, he had willed Reid more power than Chase and Caleb combined. After his own Addiction and subsequent Withdrawl, Reid had done everything he could not to Use, to forget that he was the most powerful of the Sons.

"Yeah I remember," he said.

"Well Merrick's going to go after you," she said, "he's going to want to the biggest bang for his buck," she said, "and that's you."

"So they're coming to kill me?" he demanded.

"No he's coming to steal your powers."

"Oh fuck that," he said, "what is it with you and dealing with men who are obsessed with power?" he demanded, "Merrick, Parker--"

"You."

"Me--what?!" he demanded.

"When I first met you you were obsessed with Power," she snapped, "are you kidding me? For whatever reason you were complete and totally obsessed. Of course then you figured out that you had Power, a lot of Power, and then you weren't quite as obsessed anymore."

"And that's why you left?" he snapped, the words leaving his lips before he could stop them.

"If I remember correctly, you left first," she snapped.

"Well I came back," he argued.

"And I moved on," she shot back, "and its not as if you've been sitting 'pinning' over me."

"Have you been spying on me?" he demanded.

"Don't flatter yourself," she snapped, "I don't need to spy to figure out what you've been up too, it doesn't take any imagination," she shook her head, "personally I think there's far better things to do than be promiscuous and try to set UCLA's record for the most girls bedded by an undergrad."

"Oh don't act all high and mighty," he snapped, "you're still stealing, same as always. I read the papers, I'm shocked you're not rotting in some jail cell--though I suppose that might interfere with all the running away you do."

That time she backhanded him. Reid tasted blood and turned his head back to hers, reaching up and touching his lip. His finger came away stained faintly red.

"Did I hit a nerve?" he smirked dropping his hand.

A few feet away, Tyler watched the exchange. Not for the first time he was strongly reminded of just how similar Sonya and Reid were. He had no doubt that she was still stealing and he knew for a fact that Reid had bedded more than his fair share of undergrads. He also had a strong suspicion that she still thought of Reid ad he knew that Reid had said her name more than once. Even so. the two of them looked like they were going to kill each other rather than admit they still had some mutual feelings for each other. He turned around to look at Mel who had just told him what their contingency plan was.

"You realize how insane your plan is," Tyler said, "I mean look at them, they're about to kill each other."

"I know," she said.

"Then why don't you take his power?" he demanded.

"It's not that," she said with a sigh, "Sonya is immune to the power but it's more than that. She and Reid are connected. Not like Sarah and Caleb, they're connected because they consummated their relationship," Tyler choked, "and that means she's better suited to handle his power."

"So you're saying that because she and Reid had sex, he can transfer his power to her without either of them dying?" she nodded, "because they had sex?"

"Yes," she said, "now even though they want to kill each other it's our one shot at keeping Merrick from getting Reid's power," she looked at Tyler, "Merrick can't get Reid's power. If he does then it's all over," Tyler opened his mouth, "see the thing is that if he gets Reid's power, well, that's not good."

"I know, Reid's the most powerful one of us," Tyler said, "so what?"

"No, you don't understand," Mel said, "Reid's not just the most powerful one of you. He's displayed the beginning symptoms of being able to manipulate elements--and being able to generate them. Merrick can wield them but even he can't generate them. Being able to generate elements is extremely rare and what's more, if its taken this long for Reid's power to manifest, then there's a good chance that his other power, the original one he's got is blending with this one."

"Blending?" Tyler demanded.

"Right now you four have two sets of power in you, the one you got from the locket and the one you were born with. That's very rare and while we've been trying to figure out the long term effects, we're not exactly sure what's going to happen. Our best guess is that eventually your powers will mix. Yours already are starting to, as are Caleb's. Its a matter of time before Chase and Pogues begin too. Given the monumental amount of power that Reid's got, he might have skipped the blending step and just gone strait to the conclusion."

"Jesus Christ," Tyler breathed, "what does that mean exactly?"

"It means that he can Use in any sense of the word and it won't age him," she said, "see there's a lot of different kinds of Power users. It's very hard to distinguish between them and it's even harder to figure out why they're able to do what they can do. You four are in a transitional stage. Soon you won't be able to Will your power," she sighed, "but you won't be Warlock's either."

"What are you saying?" he demanded.

"I'm saying that your Covenant may be coming to an end. Have you tried to Use?" she asked. He shook his head, "try to lift that stone over there," she said pointing.

"Okay," Tyler said focusing on the stone. He reached inside himself, summoning the power he had almost all his life. He focused it on the stone but nothing happened. He focused it again, sweat beading his forehead as he tried as hard as he could. He stopped, feeling himself go dizzy as the stone trembled. He lowered his hand and hung his head, feeling himself go cold at the thought of not having the power that he had since he was 13. He looked at the stone again and felt his eye begin to ache slightly. The stone trembled in response. He focused harder and the stone lifted off the ground, "see I can--"

Mel held up a mirror. His one eye was completely normal but the eye that was black was pulsing red again. He felt sick and lost his hold, letting the stone drop to the ground.

"What's going on?" he demanded looking at her.

"Your powers are manifesting. Powerful Empaths are able to do more than sense others or read their thoughts. With practice you can become another, or take a part of them. However, it's not usual for Empaths to have the ability to move objects with their minds, telekinesis."

"And it won't age me?" he demanded.

"No," she said, "you'll become one with your power--you already are," she looked away, "there is a price to pay," she touched her own eye, "you won't be able to stop. You can control it, of course, but you cannot turn it off. You won't be able to live normally anymore."

"I can do that," he said drawing himself up.

"Can you?" she asked.

"I can," he said, "any one of us could, we didn't know it back when Caleb left but we could have. One of us had to accept the agony of leaving everything we knew, he always was the strongest," he looked away, "we were haunted by the day he left, even if it was the right thing to do. It was only later that we realized if he had asked us, if he had even given us some kind of hint that he needed us to come with him, we would have gone with him," he shook his head, "one of us should have been brave enough to go with him."

"One of you was," she said.

"If you had told me that Chase would be the one to go after him," he shook his head, "the whole thing is so weird, I mean it seems like yesterday he was trying to kill us."

"Technically he was trying to kill Caleb," she commented dryly, "point taken, yes its strange, but not as strange as you think. Chase was never as bad as you thought he was. His Addiction made him very stupid, he never killed his adoptive parents. Think of your own Ascension, they were in a car when it happened--there was no way anyone could've survived that. His father was so desperate for a way out that when Chase finally found him he willed him his power. Not to mention the notion of living with that kind of power and having no idea what the hell it was--"

"Point taken," he said raising his hands, "so who wants to tell Reid and Sonya that because they knocked boots they have to work together?"

"Oh we'll get Ed to do it," she said, "I plan to watch their reaction from a safe distance."

"Good plan," Tyler said finally, "especially because they're still hung up on each other," he shook his head, "being Sonya and Reid, they're not going to do anything about it until one of them gets seriously injured."

"Well lets hope that when that happens Chase is here to heal them."


	13. The Reason to Stay Behind

...The Winnebago...

"Were you going to tell me?"

Max ran his hand over his face at the sound of his sisters voice. He liked her better when she was on a war path, when she would shout at him, anything really but the quiet tone of her voice. The old shame raced through him, the accusatory voice asking him how he could be so stupid. He heard her shift her stance, wrap her arms around herself and look away.

"Max--"

"No," he said, "I wasn't going to tell you," he shook his head, "what the hell was I supposed to tell you?"

"The truth?" she suggested, her voice laced with bitterness.

"So I could--" he stopped himself.

"So you could end up like me?" she demanded, finishing his sentence, "that was a very small part of the reason I was disowned," she said, "besides something tells me that this happened after mom and dad died," she added walking over to his bag.

"No," he began but she pulled out the tin, "don't," he sighed.

"This is un-natural Max," she said holding them out, "what you're doing, you can't do! Do you have any idea how many laws this goes against?"

"Laws?" he demanded, "I don't care about any fucking laws. I made a mistake, I don't want to spend eternity paying for it!" he turned away, "I've managed to hide it from you."

"Hide it?" she demanded, "only because I spend most of my time raiding tombs for the company. You think I didn't know you spent most of your nights out, that you kept 'odd hours'? I know that CEO's don't interact with ever member of the company but what you were doing--" she stopped, "I get that you made a mistake, I've made them too, but Max you can't continue to do this."

"Why not?" he snapped, "why can't--why shouldn't I do everything in my power to be normal?"

"Because you're a Vampire!" she shouted, his head snapping to the side like he had been smacked, "you're a Vampire and you're my brother and these things are only delaying your death and resurrection. All you're doing is making what's going to happen a lot more painful," she looked at the pills, "and these won't work forever."

"They're working now," he said, "and as long as they keep working I'm going to keep taking them."

"How did it happen?" she asked.

"How do you think?" he asked bitterly, "she was beautiful and I thought I was in love, maybe I was, who knows. She offered to let us be together forever and I agreed. We shared blood," he sighed, "I'm sure you know the particulars. And when I woke up in the morning, I was on fire. I know she thought I would die that night. I woke up burning and knew enough to throw myself under the bed where the sun couldn't reach me."

"You can't keep doing this Max," she said, "I don't want to loose you again."

"I know," he said, "but I can't just--" he stopped, "I can't just die, not while there's a chance I can be alright."

"Oh Max," she said closing her eyes, "you will be alright. You can't go back to being human but you'll be alright," he looked away, "I know you don't believe me but plenty of people who are not human have normal lives."

"Normal?" he demanded, "Warlocks have normal lives, you have a normal life. I'll be what, some psychotic killer who can't exist without blood? Some night walking scum bag who slinks around in the shadows, watching from the sidelines as the centuries go on?" he shook his head, "no thanks. I'll take my chances with the pills, with anything I can do to not turn into that," he stepped back, "I'm going to fight this every step of the way so I don't end up condemned."

"Then the only thing you're doing is condemning yourself," she said.

"So be it," he snapped walking out of the trailer.

She leaned against the side of the trailer and covered her hands with her face, dropping the tin with numb fingers. She should never have left. She should have been there, she should have been there when whoever bit her brother did it. She should have been there to make that whore suffer. She should have been there to help her brother, she should have been there to never let her brother get the pills. She shouldn't have left, she should never have left. No matter what her parents had said, she should have been there. Bending down, she picked up the pills and turned them over in her hand. Shaking her head, she put them back in his bag. Who was she to say he couldn't try to have a normal life?

Lord knew she hadn't had one in a long time.

Mel had told her that she and Reid were able to share power, not because of love or any storybook crap but because they had sex. No-one had mentioned her and Reid's sexual relationship in a very long time. Not that she really minded leaving that in the past considering how the two of them had parted ways. She and Reid had really only been good at two things together, fighting and having sex. It wasn't as if they shared some deep emotional bond, it wasn't as if they truly cared about each other, their relationship was clearly doomed from the beginning. She turned her head as she heard the door open and felt smirked as Reid walked into the trailer.

"So I've got to save your ass again," she said.

"Again?" he questioned, "if I remember correctly last time I saved yours."

"Well I save yours too last time, if I remember correctly," she shot back, "I suppose we'll just have to even the score again," she toyed with her fingers, "did you ever think why we didn't work? I mean maybe it was because of some fucked up deep emotional reason, but I suppose emotions didn't really factor into our relationship."

"Sonya what's going on?" he asked.

"I'm just wondering," she said, "why did we go apart so quickly?"

"Alright," he sighed, "but remember who started this. You were still hung up on Parker. I've had some pretty weird sex but knowing that when we were," he stopped, "and you were thinking of him? No-one likes that."

"I wasn't thinking of him," she said hotly, "the man had tortured me, why would I be thinking of him?"

"Maybe because you were in love with him," Reid said.

"Well its not like you were in love with me," she shot back, "I was just another conquest to you and we both know it."

"Oh like I wasn't the same thing to you," he said, "you know I've never been cheated on as many times as you did with me."

"Right back at you," she said crossing her arms, "and I've dated some pretty big scum bags," she sighed, "so we cheated on each other, we were both emotionally unavailable and the only things we were good at were fighting and having sex," she shook her head, "and now we're the only two who can save each other. Well I can safely say that's the last time I have promiscuous sex with a Warlock."

"I agree with that," he chuckled.

"Oh so you've had promiscuous sex with a Warlock?" she teased.

"No," he said, "but there was this one Witch--" she smacked his arm, "hey! We're not still going out and you started it," he laughed.

"Well it's not like you weren't egging me on," she laughed, "i guess nothing's changed," she shrugged, "well I guess there's more power this time," she reasoned, "on both ends."

"I guess," he said, "given the fact that you did have the good sense to open the locket."

"Are you impressed?" she raised her eyebrows, "and you're admitting it, well that's new," she swallowed, "I should go and check on Max," she said, "he's probably gotten himself in a load of trouble now--" she looked down to where Reid's fingers had found her wrist.

"I was impressed with you," he said, his voice barely more than a growl, "just like you were impressed with me."

"I was not," she got out.

"You have power," he said, lowering his head, "you only bother with people who have as much power as you do."

"And you think you have the same kind of power I do?" she breathed looking into his eyes.

"I'm your opposite," he smirked before stepping back, "you know I do."

She opened her mouth before closing it. She did not like to be toyed with. Oh she was still angry at him for hurting her, love or no, but she was not going to just let him have that kind of effect on her. At least not while returning the favor.

"Did you know that Max got bitten during sex?" she said sauntering over to him, "he was with this intoxicating woman," she backed Reid up against the wall, "he didn't tell me where she bit him, but I think it was either here," she scraped her teeth over his neck, "or here," she said running one hand down his abs to rest slightly lower. She heard his breath catch and saw the way his hands clenched. She flicked her tongue over the bite mark and smirked, stepping back, "I'll see you later," she said stepping back, "try to keep up next time."

...The Cottage, Sanctuary...

Sarah looked over the note again and lowered her hands. Claire and Chase had gone to the Witch Hunters for help. Claire had killed and resurrected herself to save them all. It was kind of odd to think of Claire as the great Almira Theron. Of course Sarah had known, in the back of her head, that the two of them were the same person. She had to research Clan Theron for a case a while back. She knew that Claire had a wicked streak a mile wide but still. Even so, Sarah honestly couldn't think of a person better suited to keep Claire in some kind of order than Chase. During his brief time with them, he had proven to be far more like the guy who they first started hanging out with, before she had figured out the whole Sons of Ipswitch thing.

"We have to go after them," Caleb said.

"Caleb," Pogue said, "something tells me that you flying in isn't going to go over too well," he ran his hand through his hair, "we need to find the others and meet up with them," Caleb opened his mouth but Pogue barreled on, "look, if they're going to pull this off then they're going to need us to be ready to help them. You're the only one who knows how they think and that's probably why they left you behind."

"They're supposed to be going to some town," Sarah said, "but it can't be there," she continued, "hold on," she said turning the note over, "do you have a map?" she asked.

"Here," Caleb said throwing out his hands. Sarah red him the co-ordinates and he spun the map, focusing in on them, "it's a bay--docks," he continued, "she said they're coming by ships right? Well they're going to head them off."

"No," Sarah said leaning forward, "one of Clan Theron's strongholds is a city in a Cove," she pointed to the rocks, "they're going to attack them from the rocks," she said, "that's why they left you," she continued.

"They need us to distract them," Caleb finished, "we have to make sure they think it's just us, that they don't know the Witch Hunters are waiting for them."

"We have to get to Mel," Kate said.

"We?" Pogue demanded turning to her, "no, you can't come."

"Oh I'm coming," she said standing up, "do you honestly think I'm just going to sit back and let you get yourself killed? I'm coming with you."

"Kate," he said standing up, "please, if anything happened to you or--" he trailed off.

Caleb started, he hadn't heard that tone in Pogue's voice since they were kids.

"Guys," Sarah said, "what's going on?"

"I just don't think it's a good idea for Kate to risk getting herself hurt," he said.

"And I think you need to know there's a difference between being helpless and pregnant," she shot back and then covered her mouth with her hands, "oops. We just found out, we were going to tell you I swear," she sighed, "I guess I really can't come along, can I?"

...City by the Sea, Parrot Cove...

"Come on," she said pulling him forward.

"Where are we going?" Chase laughed as she tugged him down one of the docks.

They had just come from yet another meeting. They had gotten the Witch Hunters to agree to help with their fight which was a feat in itself. It seemed that they had just been in endless meetings since their arrival at the City, of course they had found time for other activities, but there were a lot of meetings. It turned out that Chase's questionable history had an unforeseen advantage. The Witch Hunters didn't actually view him as a full on Warlock, but rather, as a semi-better alternative. He had never thought anything could come of his past but as time went on and he found life harder to imagine without Claire, he realized that there may be some good to having the Witch Hunters not think he was completely awful.

"We are going to here," she said stopping in front of a massive ship.

"Wow," he said, "what is this thing?"

"This thing," she said teasingly, "is a ship, well more than that, it's the ship," she smiled, "technically it's my ship, or it will be, it's the flagship. It's the best in the fleet and this fleet is the best of the Clans," she sighed and looked at it, "I have to ask you, have you tried to Use?"

"No," he said shaking his head, "I don't Use, well, since Vivian. I Used to follow her and that was the first time in years. I felt actually kind of sick."

"Use," she said.

"What?" he asked.

"I said Use," she urged, "i want to see something," she held out her hand, "do anything, just try."

"Okay," he sighed closing his eyes and calling on his Power. He couldn't feel it like he used to. He looked at her, "how did you--"

"It's your powers, they're blending together. Your changing from just a regular Warlock," she said pulling out her knife and slicing her palm, "try again," he took her hand and healed the wound, "see? I bet Pogue's shape shifting and Caleb's raw power wielding are changing the same way," she put her knife back, "your power's just altering, that's all. It usually happens when you've got a lot of power inside you, your powers just connect and blend together."

"So we can't Use?" he asked.

"Well I guess maybe for little things," she said, "but who--"

He offered her the purple geranium. She stopped and looked up at him with wide eyes. Claire had always like three flowers, the Tiare, the Geranium and the Rose, but she couldn't remember ever sharing the information with anyone. It just seemed so girly and not something she should ever share with anyone. But from the smile on his face, he seemed to know that she liked that kind of flower. She looked at the flower and back at him again, unsure of what to say.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"When I was asleep--there were times when I heard your voice. Right after Pogue and Kate, got engaged, you were talking about the kind of proposal you wanted," she blushed bright red, "well you mentioned your favorite flowers and this was one of them," he smiled at the shocked look on her face and reached up, tucking the flower behind her ear, "don't worry, I won't think for a second that you can't cause me serious pain."

"Well, good," she said recovering, "now come on, I want to show you my future ship," she said taking his hand and leading him to the ship. Turning around, she brushed her lips against his suddenly, "thank you for the flower," she smiled.


	14. And The Reason to Move Ahead

...The Winnebago...

"You know I wanted out so badly," Sonya said, "I wanted out of this world so badly. I thought what I could do, I thought it made me unable to exist--" she stopped, "but Max, Max isn't ever going to be able to leave," she turned around, "I know you're there Em, you can show yourself and tell me why you're here listening to me mope."

"Have you," Emily said appearing, "have you noticed that the Covenant's powers are changing? Tyler can't even Use anymore, neither can Pogue. If anyone can Use it's Reid, Caleb and Chase because their father's Willed them power. But even so, it'll be hard for Chase and Caleb because they're power has manifested," she sighed at Sonya's expression, "Reid hasn't manifested his power," she said finally, "and we're running out of time."

"I agreed to protect him, what more do you want?" Sonya demanded.

"I want you to do your job!" Emily shouted, "if I thought asking you would do anything I would but I know it won't so I am ordering you to protect Reid. His best shot at survival is for his power to manifest," she pulled a folder out of thin air and offered it to Sonya, "look at it."

Sonya sighed and opened the folder. The first photograph was at a beach during the sunset. Kate and Pogue were standing together, only Kate was wearing a white silk beach dress and Pogue was wearing a suit--or rather a button down shirt and slacks, Pogue's definition of a suit. She frowned and looked at the stuffy man a few feet away and did a double take. She flipped through the photos, Pogue and Kate looking far too happy and carefree to have been posed. She saw the platinum bands on their fingers and looked at the last photograph of them in front of a storybook house. Slowly she closed the folder and looked at Emily.

"His power manifested just after that," Emily said, "Mel gave me the file--where are you going?"

"I'm going to go to Mel," she said storming off and heading towards the trailer, "Melanie where are you?!"

"Hi," Mel said, "lets take a walk, something tells me that you're going to be loud as hell and I don't think Reid needs to hear this. Come on," she led Sonya up the hill, "I assume that Emily showed you the photos."

"Yes," she said, "what the hell is that supposed to mean? What are you trying to say to me?"

"I'm saying that we don't have time to make up a tragedy, we don't have time to cause Reid pain and suffering to spark a manifestation. Until his power manifests he can still 'Will' it away. If you're going to protect him you can't have him be such an easy target."

"So if I'm not making him suffer then what am I--" she stopped, "oh no, absolutely not."

"Why not?" she said.

"Because Reid and I don't actually care about each other," Sonya said, "you can ask anyone--anyone at all and they'll tell you that we're only good at two things--"

"No," Mel said, "you're good at three things, fighting, having sex and lying. You two are exactly the same and you're both too afraid to admit that you might actually like--dare I say love--each other! You can lie all you want we both know that you both have a very nasty habit of pissing your sexual escapades off by saying the other person's name in bed."

"Maybe I just like the way the word Reid sounds," Sonya said crossing her arms defensively.

"Are you kidding me?" Mel demanded, "okay thats it. Listen to me right now. Unless you get his power to manifest now, you're never going to find out whether or not there's a chance that if the two of you get your heads out of your asses it's possible to have a relationship."

"That made no sense," she said, "but I get it. I don't like it but I get it," she said, "you said pain and suffering right?"

"No, no, no!" Mel cried storming after her.

"Oh yes, yes, yes," she said walking down the hill, "I am going to beat that insufferable man until his power manifests so hard that he doesn't know what hit him," she continued looking around for him, "Reid Garwin you get out here right now!"

"What?" he muttered sleepily walking out of the winnebago, "you want a rematch?"

"No I don't want a rematch," she snapped, "I want to make it very clear to you that I was not hung up on Parker when we were together," she jabbed her finger at him, "the only person I was hung up on was you! Of course the last time I felt that way about anyone he turned out to be a murderous asshole so I didn't handle what we had very well. But to think I was hung up on him? Are you kidding me? The only person I ever wanted when we were together was you," she turned to Mel, "now can we do it my way?"

"No, hold on," Reid said grabbing her arm, "you're kidding right? I mean when we were together--if that's what you could call it--we never--"

"No," she said, "we didn't but she wants me to make your powers manifest," Mel smacked her forehead, "and they said that there was no time for pain or suffering--which I told her there was--and she said that Pogue's powers manifested after some love-crap and so that was the only other option," she looked at him, "did I scare you?"

"No," he said.

"Oh don't flatter yourself," she said, "it would take a lot more than you to break me."

"Really? I didn't know it was possible."

"Oh for Gods Sake!" Mel cried, "the two of you are impossible!"

"I told you this was a bad idea," Tyler said.

"Tyler!"

"It was!" he said walking up to them, "I'm the Empath and I'll tell you right now that these two idiots," he looked at them, "are well aware of how the other feels and they're just too scared to admit it," he shrugged, "so when one of them dies I call 'not it' on broken heart patrol."

"What do you mean by the first part?" Mel asked.

"What the Empath-part?"

"After that," she said.

"Oh you mean that aware-of-how-the-other-feels-but-too-scared-to-admit-it-part," he said, "oh no, I like all my limbs far too much to get involved in this," he looked at Reid, "this isn't going to work! Like I said before, they've been screwing around for, well, forever. There's no relationship here, not really, they're both completely emotionally unavailable."

"Tyler!" Reid cried.

"You are," Tyler said, "I don't care how desperate you are, you're better off saving your breath for something possible--like blowing out a fire, or swimming the Atlantic in one breath, because either of those things are more possible than getting the two of them to admit they feel anything other than carnal passion for each other."

"Carnal--admitting--" Reid looked at her, "what the hell is he talking about?"

"They're just trying to get your power to manifest," she said, "nothing more, ignore them. I don't know why they think that I'm the one to inspire anything in you," she shook her head, "I'm leaving, this is completely ridiculous."

"I'm coming with you," he said following her.

She walked up the hill, away from them and hoped he would get the hint that not wasn't the best time for them to fight. He had only seen her cry twice, once in the bathroom after Parker and once when she was leaving. She had never been very good at expressing emotions, especially not where relationships were concerned and definitely not where Reid was concerned. She turned around and saw he was still following her and tried not to scream in frustration and failed miserably.

"Stop following me!" she cried, '"we're in the middle of no-where! There has to be another place you can go."

"Why are you so hostile?" he demanded.

"I am not being hostile," she said, "I'm angry, there's a difference."

"Really?" he asked, amused.

"Stop looking so amused. I'm angry because people seem to believe that I'm capable of inspiring something in you. I'm angry because my brother is a Vampire and he won't let his power manifest. I'm angry because I don't do selfless things and suddenly I've got a lot of people asking. I'm angry for a lot of other reasons," she stopped with a wave of her hand, "but you get the idea."

"Oh yeah," he said shaking his head, "you are by far the most confusing girl I ever dated."

"Dated?" she asked raising her eyebrows.

"Okay not officially," he said, "not even."

"Don't worry, I never expected you to be my 'boyfriend'," she said, "are you joking? I mean we cared about each other but we weren't ever anything like Kate and Pogue or Sarah and Caleb," she sighed, "I like to think that we were just too passionate, no self control."

"We were also 18," he commented, "and it's not like either of us were mature."

"Like we are now?" she laughed, "I'm still a thief, you're still a skirt chaser--who says we've changed at all?" she shook her head, "look at us for the past few days, we still fight like hell."

"We didn't have sex," he added.

"You would think about that."

"Hey I'm not the one who simultaneously tried to figure out why our relationship failed and then groped me in a Winnebago," he said.

"It wasn't like you didn't have both coming," she said, "don't forget I also beat you up."

"You hit me once," he argued jokingly.

"Once more than you hit me," she said laughing, "and don't use the 'I don't hit girls' bit, we've fought physically plenty of times."

"I don't know if you could call those fighting," he countered.

"What are we supposed to?" she groaned, "I mean we fight and we--well--we fight but," she sighed, "but I haven't had the kind of, whatever we had, since you," she looked at him, "am I sounding too wishy washy?"

"You sound like a girl," he said wrinkling his nose. She blushed and buried her face in her hands, "I hate to tell you this Sonya, but that's what you are," she made a muffled sound and he covered her hands with his, pulling them down, "you are a brilliant, beautiful girl--woman, trust me I know. If you were anything else this would have ended a long time ago."

"Lets find out what this is," she said suddenly, twisting her fingers so she could entwine them with his, "come on, it'll be weird but it could be fun."

"You want to have a relationship?" he demanded, his eyebrows raising.

"Well we know each other, sort of, after all the fighting. Th sex was pretty fantastic and considering all the fighting I'd say we're overdue for that and besides, I missed you and that's got to count for something."

"I'd say we know each other a bit better than sort of," he said and she opened her mouth, "alright, fine."

"Fine what?" she asked.

"Fine, if you want to try a relationship we can," he sighed, "but I suck at them," she gave him a look, "I said I'd try. But no nicknames, and none of that hokey stuff like flowers or jewelry or winged babies in diapers."

"Duh," she said, "but if this doesn't work then we're going back to the old thing," she said, "this is the part where you--"

"This is the part we're good at," he said pulling her close and bending down, pressing their lips together softly. She deepened the kiss before pulling back and giving him a skeptical look, "oh thank God," he said and kissed her again, pulling her fully against him.

"Okay, now," Emily said. Ed rolled his eyes and threw out his hands, streaking the blue flame towards them. Reid didn't even bother to break the kiss, flicking his hand out and absorbing the flame before flipping them off and wrapping his arms around her.

...The Cottage, Sanctuary...

"Caleb?"

Sarah stepped out of the Cottage, wanting to give Pogue and Kate some privacy. She spotted Caleb standing a few feet away, watching the horizon. She had to smile at the sight. Caleb had always been very broody, able to spend hours just thinking. He always seemed surprised by the fact that he was one of the most popular kids at school, attributing it to his family name rather than his own charisma. It seemed that the rumors of him were very true and once again he didn't believe a word of them. She found herself wondering if there was any room in his life for her and immediately banished the thought before it got out of hand. They had yelled and she had cried and they had admitted they missed each other but that was a far cry from 'someday I may propose to you'.

"Hey," she said softly so he would know it was her.

"Hey," he said shifting his stance, "so she agreed to stay?"

"Yes," she said, "the baby kind of made up her mind for her."

"I can't believe it," he admitted, "it seems like yesterday Pogue was this 15 year old kid who was too scared to ask her out," Sarah smiled at the familiar story, "now they're married and they're about to have a kid."

"They've been together longer than anyone," she said, "well I suppose Claire and Chase are second--"

"We're, actually, second," he coughed uncomfortably and she blushed.

"Oh, right," she said, belatedly remembering that even if they had been angry, they hadn't actually broken up. In fact he had told her he loved her--"no," she said, "we haven't seen each other in six years! This is insane."

Caleb breathed a sigh of relief, though he barely showed it. She felt it too, he wasn't completely loosing his mind. He had pushed away any thought, any hope of her feeling anything for him still. He didn't deserve her love, he knew that. He had walked out after confessing he loved her, who did that? He should have stayed, he should have stayed and made sure she knew that no matter what happened he would always be in love with her. He would have meant those words, he would truly have meant them but he would have had no way of knowing they were true. As it turned out they were very true, he had wanted the memory of her over any other living, breathing woman.

"I know it is," he said running his hand through his hair, "is there someone else?"

"No," she said looking down, "you?" he shook his head, "where does that leave us?"

"I don't know," she said running her hand over her face, "I mean, Caleb, we haven't seen each other in six years," he opened his mouth, "after i saw my parents, I could have gone anywhere and after all this time I went strait for you," she looked away, "I didn't come willingly, you know. I told Sonya no," she looked at him, "and she doped me and took me anyway," she saw his fists clench, "you're still protective! I haven't seen you in six years and the last words I said to you were that I didn't believe you loved me!" she ran her hands over her face, "what are we doing? We don't even know each other anymore."

"We didn't, as you so kindly pointed out, know each other back then."

"I know," she said, "but we were young and stupid--"

"Sarah we're not dead," he pointed out, "once you hit 18, magical things don't just stop happening to you. There isn't an age limit on this, look at you. You didn't know about your connection to the Covenants when we first."

"And you think that it wasn't just this whole magic-sharing thing?" she questioned, "you think that we were honest to God in love, despite the fact that we were so different?" she sighed, "i just, I don't know Caleb. I want--God, I want so many things. But most of all, I want to stop being numb," she looked at him desperately, "don't you want to not be numb anymore?"

"All the time," he said, "but I know you're the only one who can do that," he finished stepping close to her.

"I wish we weren't so dependent on each other," she said looking at him.

"We aren't," he said gently reaching out and cupping her face, "we are two, grown adults who, for better or worse, never stopped loving each other."

"I don't have the ring anymore," she said, "I gave it to Mel."

"We'll see her soon enough," he said leaning down, "we don't have to--"

She cut him off, surging up onto her tiptoes and pressing her lips against his. Her arms came to rest on his shoulders as his own slipped down from her face to her waist before pulling her against him, deepening the kiss. She smiled against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. It was like learning to breath again, every inch of her body on fire. Nothing mattered but the feeling of his lips on hers. After all the time that had passed, he still felt unexplainably the same. Even though kissing him again after all the time spent apart felt dizzying, she knew she wouldn't ever want to go as long without him. Slowly they pulled apart, his one hand resting just against her scar.

"I'm alright," she said looking at him, "that was not your fault," she said firmly, "besides, now we just both have them," she added moving a hand to run her fingertip up one of the scars on his back, eliciting a sound between a gasp and a groan from him which she silenced with her lips. Then his own fingers slid under her shirt and slowly but steadily began to trace her scar. She sucked in her breath and felt him smile in the kiss, "is that how it's going to be?" she asked.

"Well we are adults," he said, "and we do have a lot of catching up to do."


	15. Another Set Back

...City by the Sea...

Claire sat beside her boat, arms wrapped firmly around her legs, tears snaking down her cheeks. She was unsure of, well, of everything. She had come to terms with coming home and why she had left. Initially when she thought of loving Parker enough to leave everything she knew, the idea seemed completely stupid. But now, more and more, it seemed very feasible. Her feelings for Parker had been genuine, as much as she hated to admit it, but they hadn't been mutual. What she was feeling for Chase, she knew that was a good deal truer than anything she had done before. She could even accept the fact that he was a Warlock.

So why was she sitting there crying?

Well because of the whole Covenant thing. In name or not, Chase was a member of the Covenant of Ipswitch. While that didn't mean a bad thing for the rest of the world, for her it meant disaster. It wasn't as if she and Chase were even thinking about marriage but one day it would come up and then what? She was expected to marry someone who could perform the duties of a Consort, not a King. She was expected to marry someone either for the sake of the Alliance or within the Clan. She was supposed to produce an heir of her own, it was her responsibility to make sure that Clan Theron stayed that way. She couldn't worry about having Chase's heir or of being a Wife of Ipswitch with everything she had to do on her own end of the deal.

"Scoot over," Chase said coming beside her, "I know you're not okay and misery loves companions so," she scooted over and felt him settle next to her, "your father sent me."

"Huh?" she looked at him sharply before looking away again.

"You should've seen my face when he asked me to go and talk to you. Apparently I'm the only one who can talk sense into you these days," she rolled her eyes, "hey I said the same thing--you're too crazy for anyone to talk sense into you," she shook her head and smiled weakly, "there we go, what's wrong?"

"Did you think what's going to happen when this is over?" she asked, "I mean when kick Merrick and Vivian back to hell where they belong. What happens to you and me?" he opened his mouth, "because I'll have to come back here and do this," she said waving to the world around them "I'll have to be a Witch Hunter and the leader of this Clan someday. I'll have to have a Consort and I'll have to have an heir to carry on when I die," she sighed, "and you, you'll have to have a wife and an heir for your power too. I mean will we ever see each other again? Will we have time for each other? What if your Covenant steps out of line and we have to come and kill you?" she stood up slowly, "this can't work."

"What?" he asked, slowly getting to his feet, "what are you saying?"

"I'm saying this can't work," she repeated, "we're happy now, but what about when I have to kill again or you have to go with your Covenant? At the end of the day I'm a Witch Hunter and you're a Warlock and that's all we can ever be. It's who we are. I should marry someone within the Clan, or someone the Alliance chooses. You should marry some human girl who can be your wife and let your power be passed on to your child," she closed her eyes, "I'm sorry but we can't do this anymore."

"This is crazy," he said, "you can't even look me in the eye, can you? You just want to take everything and throw it away so you can follow duty? Are you kidding me? We can make this work Claire, I know we can--"

"We can't," she said, "we have too much to do! You have to pick your battles," she stepped back, "and this isn't one I want to fight."

"I do," he said, "if there was any battle I ever wanted to fight it's this one. Please don't do this, you can't honestly tell me that you don't feel anything for me."

"I know I feel something for you," she said, "I know I'm in love with you but that's not enough. We're too different and we need different things from our partners, things that we can't give each other," she bit her lip, "we can't do this anymore and letting it go on any further is just asking for more pain and suffering. We've both got too much to do to, we can't do this," she stepped back further, "we can't be in love Chase, its a liability, a weakness. What happens if someone wants to get to us? Someone wants to try again? Until there are children, there's us," she closed her eyes before looking at him, "I won't do that, not to me and not to you."

"So that's it?" he questioned, his voice rough, "because you're afraid you just want to throw this away?"

"No," she said, "I don't want to, but I will."

"You know what?" he said, "before this, you never talked about your time here. You seemed ashamed of it. I didn't press the matter because we all had things we were ashamed of but I never understood why you were ashamed of it," he shook his head, "now I know. Because you are a coward. You hide behind anything--behind everything so that you don't have to admit you actually love someone, that you love me. I know you do and I know you're afraid," she opened her mouth, "go on, yell at me but we both know it's true. We know you're afraid to try again after what happened to Parker," he didn't move any closer, "you remember Sonya Kendrick?"

"The thief?" she demanded.

"Yes, the thief. The thief whose been kidnapped and tortured by Parker more than once, who was also in love with him? Well she's moved on. She's terrified of trying again but she is," he sighed, "I can tell I'm not getting through to you, i know you're stubborn as hell and it won't work," he ran his hand over his face, "Just one thing keeps bugging me, if we, you and I, had continued on with Caleb, would you have ever want to be with me?" she looked away, "even without your memories we both know the answer to that," he walked past her, "I know what I feel for you and you know what you feel for me. When you're not afraid anymore, then I'll be waiting."

With that he walked past her down the docks. She watched him go and leaned against the boat, looking out into the ocean. She had spoken the truth, everything she said about duty, about weakness, about someone using one to get to the other, it had all been very true. She couldn't just be a Wife if Ipswitch, it didn't work like that. She had so much to do--she looked back at his retreating form and felt her insides twist painfully. She looked out at the ocean again and told herself that feeling had something to do with something she ate. Squaring her shoulders, she pushed herself away from the ship. She had work to do and sitting there moping wasn't going to get any of it done. She walked forward, but made sure that she walked slowly enough so that by the time she reached the end of the dock he was already gone.

...The Winnebago...

Tyler sat up with a gasp, looking around frantically. His eye burned painfully and he clapped a hand over it, trying to ease the pain. He hadn't connected with anyone like that since connecting with Caleb in his bathroom. Claire and Chase had made it to the Witch Hunters, gotten help, had a relationship and broke up. He slowly forced himself to lower his hand, deciding it wasn't helping any. They were moving fast if all that had happened. He shook his head, everyone was moving fast. Reid and Sonya were on a different couch, curled around each other and thankfully wearing cloths. Mel and Ed were somewhere in the darkness, as was Max. They were making good time heading towards the co-oridnates Jamie had somehow gotten. Tyler glanced over and looked at Emily who was sound asleep, her hair falling over the side of her face.

It was difficult for him to say how long he had harbored feelings for her. It wasn't when they first met, she was an Envoy then. She was something almost not real, something to be revered and something that was telling them they were potentially dead in a matter of days unless they brought back someone they assumed to be a psycho-killer. Then she had slowly shown maybe, just maybe, there was something under that untouchable exterior. And then she had confirmed it. She never knew that he heard Claire tell her she knew she had made some exception to the Envoy Rules, that she had transported Chase there instead of letting the Witch Hunters kill them. He never told her but he had always thought of her differently after, he had known that her Envoy-ness was a cover. Then she had told them she was staying, not as their Envoy but as their friend, as Emily Odell. It was still odd to think that she had a name like that. Comforting but odd. The fact that Merrick had tortured her made him angry, a good deal angrier than he would ever admit.

Tyler had been the baby of the group for, well for the entire time. He was the youngest but for some reason he was expected to be the most reserved one. He knew he was Reid's side-kick, although after he finished his Addiction, Reid thought of him as an equal. Even so, the others had always expected him to follow. He had never had time for his own drama because he was always doing there's. He had never had his own problems, not really, because he had four--now five--older brothers who were like magnets for trouble. People said that sometimes he stated the obvious, well that was because sometimes those people made their complicated problems even moreso and he had to tell them what they were really dealing with. He sighed and looked back at her, only to find her looking at him patiently.

After all this time she was still patiently waiting for him. He didn't know what she was waiting for. He wanted tell her he had seen how men looked at her, she should just go with one of them but something stopped him. Maybe it was hope? Hope that maybe, just maybe, they could have something more than friendship. He had always been the wise one, he didn't want to go charging headfirst into a dramatic relationship.

In the shadows, Mel looked at them and shook her head. She had never encountered a more dramatic Covenant in her life. Closing her eyes, she stepped away from them.Given Tyler's reaction, something had happened between Claire and Chase. It wasn't as if she hadn't expected Claire to be reluctant to have a relationship, but she had hoped that the young Witch Hunter would wait a little longer to do something about it. Apparently she was not going to catch any breaks in this. she wondered idly what they thought was going to happen when this was over? She hoped they didn't think they were going back to their old lives, that would make her job much harder.

"You're brooding."

Mel glanced back at Ed. He was sitting cross-legged next to Jamie who was tapping his hands on the steering wheel in time with the music coming from his head phones. It was odd to think how they must look to the Covenant of Ipswitch. They were playing a dangerous game, a game that the Covenant would need a lot more practice to even hope to survive. She had been playing the game for a long time, but not in the same way that Ed and Jamie were. She was a willing player, on some level. They never had any choice in the matter, the decision was made for them when they were born. Not for the first time, she worried that bringing them along was a bad idea. She turned to them and leaned against the wall.

"Can you blame me?"

"No," he said straitening up with easy grace, "I can, however, worry about you."

She shook her head and turned away, crossing her arms. Mel did not need anyone to save her, sometimes Ed forgot that. The truth of the matter was that she had saved him when they first met. Ed was something of a prince in the magical world, though it was impossible to tell. His father was Emily and, at one point, Claire's boss. He was the head Envoy, the only one to have ever seen whatever the Ancient Laws existed as. Ed along with his brother and sister were magical phenomenon's. When she and Ed had first met she had wanted nothing to do with him. It was before she had been in the business of helping other people escape, it had been back when she was escaping herself, or at least, trying too. Instead she had managed to do nothing but land herself in a mess and the only way out of it was rescuing Ed who had run away from home.

That was back before Ed knew what the word control meant and had the nasty habit of generating and then combining all the elements into a single, devastating attack that had the equally nasty habit of leveling pretty much anything within a ten mile radius. They sent Mel in because even if he was an element generator and wielder, he was still a magic user and she was immune. So she had gone and found Ed. She had essentially beat control into him because even if he was a phenomenon, she had no patience. The two of them absolutely hated each other and that did not change.

Until years later when Ed learned control and Mel learned to be nicer. He decided to be Guardian and she, being a Guardian, was assigned to help him. Most Guardians had someone help them but she was also assigned to make sure that he didn't do anything stupid, like get kidnapped. Once again they didn't exactly get along but this time, well, it was time really. Spending every waking minuet together, they wound up becoming friends and then they became more. It was more a Reid and Sonya story than a Sarah and Caleb one, but eventually the two of them discovered that they were in love. Nothing was predictable, especially not their relationship. And then, one day, Ed proposed. No-one was more shocked than Mel, but she got over it enough to say Yes.

"You don't need to rescue me," she said as he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her.

"What do you think about them out there?" he joked.

"Ha ha," she said dryly, "I'm more worried about Claire. If we have too--" she shook her head, "I just can't bear the thought of doing anything to her," she sighed, "what can we do?"

"Well," he said, "funny you should ask. I was thinking that and I may have a solution."

"Hey," Jamie called, taking off his head phones, "if the two of you are going to, whatever, could you maybe go somewhere else? I've got some serious work to do and I don't need to be distracted by the two of you doing whatever it is you plan to do."

"You've got porn on right now," Mel said.

"Yes but having these two beautiful women make out is one thing, having you two go at it in a winnebago is completely different," he said throwing on his headphones, "you're both powerful, teleport somewhere else. Right now I've got too much to do. Besides, this helps me work. Silence makes it hard to concentrate," he hit a few of the keys, "yes I know that's not normal," he grinned, "but I wrote the book on not being normal--the two of you are just co-authors."

"You know, sometimes you act so much like a punk kid it's easy to forget what you really are," Mel sighed with a smile, "other than a major pain in the ass."


	16. Remember

...City by the Sea...

Her arms burned painfully but she didn't stop, she couldn't stop. She had long ago realized that her training as a fighter would never be complete. The old training master was still learning things for pete's sake. She had gone to him and practically begged for anything to take her mind off the thoughts running through her head. He had obliged with about a thousand and one drills using a pair of ancient steel tipped fans. It was hard to say which hurt more, her wrists or the rest of her. Of course when an ancient man who could kill her with his finger was coming at her with a wicked looking sword, the word 'hurt' was not something she cared to explore. Twisting away from the attack, she snapped the fans and retaliated, slicing a long arc with one while blocking the other and snapping her foot around, catching the old man and knocking him to the ground. She rolled forward and pressed the edge of the fan to his neck.

A lazy clapping sound made her stop and look behind her. Her blood ran cold and she turned back to the man.

"Get out of here," she whispered before getting to her feet and turning around.

Standing a few feet away, leaning against the door as if it were the most natural thing, was Vivian Donovan. Parker's sister smiled wickedly and Claire could have wept with relief. She was no good at a relationship, she wasn't cut out for love. However, she could fight and Vivian was a welcome distraction. The two of them had always been well matched as far as opponents went. Claire straitened up and folded the fans together, tossing them to the side. If she was going to fight Vivian then she was going to fight her, not dance around with a pair of fans that were older than her. Vivian's smile grew wider at the knowledge that she had come to the right place for a fight. Stripping off the long coat she wore, she walked over to the weapons cases and pulled out the three pronged daggers that she favored, tossing three of them to Claire in rapid succession before taking three herself.

"I have to say, I didn't expect you to show up before tomorrow night," Claire said slipping one into the waistband of her pants before testing the weight of the other two, "given your affinity for tradition and all."

"If I had to spend one more night on that boat with Merrick and his brooding or Chance and his moping, I was going to just go ahead and kill them myself," she said doing a few lazy passes, "I mean they say we're the hormonal ones," she snorted, "please. I would never sit around like that."

"And I would?" Claire raised her eyebrows, "Sonya would," she said thoughtfully.

"Ah yes, the perfect thief and her Vampire brother," Vivian smirked, "she still upholding that whole 'not killing' policy?"

"Yes," Claire shook her head, "not that I understand it. So, have you got to the Lui Clan for them or was I special?"

"Hey," Vivian said, "its not like the assassin actually killed you. So tell me then, how do you like the whole immunity to power?"

"It takes some getting used too," Claire said stepping forward and attacking, "its so weird to not have all these memories," she blocked Vivian's attack, "I'm missing six years and no-one will tell me anything. And I'm getting flashes, is that normal?"

"Yes," Vivian said forcing her back, "you'll get flashes and then you'll get stretches of memory and hopefully you'll finally be able to remember," she ducked under her swing, "but it's impossible to know whether or not you'll ever get your full memory back ," she sighed, "it's so odd to think you're actually becoming a Witch Hunter again given your experiences."

"You mean with your brother?"

"No," she said sarcastically, "I mean with Max," she rolled her eyes, "I'm talking about scar boy," she said, watching Claire go tense, "hit a nerve did I? Well it's not like it's a secret, the entire world is absolutely buzzing over the two of you," she ducked under one of Claire's swings, "even I must admit, it is kind of sickeningly sweet, the Warlock and the Witch Hunter. That's the kind of crap the Guardians were founded on," she added, "you're very defensive, tell me you didn't go and mess this up too."

"I did not," Claire gasped, "I simply ended it before it got out of hand."

"Oh that's smart," Vivian said, "you know, just take the one actual nurturing relationship you have and throw it away, it makes so much sense," she blocked and attacked, "okay Claire, think about it. This is probably the one guy whose seen what you're capable of and still wants to have a relationship with you--not just carnal sex," Claire sliced upwards and caught Vivian's chin, "you're being an idiot if you're just going to let him go," she glanced over her shoulder "I mean it's not like your clan is exactly overflowing with men who want to do anything but reproduce."

"Don't go insulting the men my Clan," she said hotly, "they want to hunt and kill too."

"Sorry," Vivian said sarcastically, "if it were me and I found a guy who could actually keep up with me I would do everything to keep him," she glared at Claire, "you're seriously not going to go after him? Are you kidding me? Look at the guys you've been with, Parker? Max? David? What was the one main reason you broke up?" Claire opened her mouth, "they couldn't keep up."

"And they were crazy!" Claire cried.

"So are you!" Vivian shot back, "if you don't make up with him before we actually fight I am going to be seriously pissed off," she said lowering her weapons, "now I am," Claire threw the weapon overhand. Vivian spun around and threw out her hand, the weapon slamming through her hand, "not bad," she said, "but ponder this, oh Queen of the Witch Hunters, while your little boytoy was about to be incinerated, who do you think pulled him out?" she winked before slowly ebbing away.

Claire dropped the weapon and ran her hands through her hair. She was playing a dangerous game, she knew that. All that she had missed was apparently becoming a big problem and the one person she could probably get the answers out of was currently not speaking to her. She stopped, there was another person she may be able to get some answers out of. Focusing herself, she reached out mentally for him and grabbed, pulling so hard that she physically landed on her back. Pushing herself up she looked over and saw Max Kendrick lying on his back looking around.

"Jesus Christ Claire!" he shouted pushing himself up, "what the hel--" she pressed a hand over his mouth.

"Shh," she said, "I don't want anyone to know you're here," she looked around, "come on, we need to talk," she grabbed his hand and led him out of the training house and away from the docks, going towards one of the hidden places that she used to hide as a child, "here," she said leading him into one of the caves in the rocks.

"Alright, what?" he asked crossing his arms, "you teleported me here, what do you need?"

"I resurrected myself," she said, "obviously you know that. Well I still am only getting small flashes at best. I need more than that, I need to know what I'm missing," she crossed her arms around herself, "I'm different Max, I'm different and I'm scaring myself. No-one will tell me anything and its only a matter of time before the Clan starts to ask questions," she ran her hands through her hair, "I mean when I was the heir to all this, I was Almira, then when I left I was Claire and now I'm not sure and I can't be sure until I remember."

"I can't make you remember," he said.

"Yes you can," she said.

"You're risking loosing your mind," he said, "having some gaps is a far cry from being a vegetable--" he stopped as she rolled up her sleeve and offered her arm to him, "Claire--"

"It's what you are. You take those pills as a suppressant, I get that. But I know you Max," she sighed, "I saw you Turn remember?" he shuddered at the memory, "look I didn't come to accuse you, I came to ask for your help," she offered her arm, "please."

He sighed and took her wrist in his hand, running his thumb over the old scar. He looked at her and saw she was serious about it. He knew better than to argue with her. Closing his eyes, he looked down before looking back at her and nodding. He heard her sigh with relief and opened his eyes, looking just at her wrist. Running his tongue over his lips, he let out the breath he had been holding and lowered his lips to her wrist, pressing his lips to the skin. He let his guard down, the world slowly coming into his senses. He felt his pupils dilate and his other sense sharpen along with his teeth. He looked back at her, silhouetted in the darkness before opening his lips and sinking his teeth into the skin of her wrist.

Claire sucked in her breath at the feeling coursing through her veins. It was familiar, she and Max had been lovers once, but at the same time it was exhilarating. He moved away from her wrist and captured her lips with his own. The Blood Sharing Ritual was a dangerous one, Claire could feel the adrenaline rushing through her as she did her part of it. She broke the kiss with a ragged gasp as the memories began to hit her in rapid succession. She felt her knees buckle and Max's hands move around her, holding her up as his lips moved to her neck. Her head rolled back, giving him better access as her mind slowly adjusted to the burden of what she was seeing.

Max heard her cry out, but whether she realized she was doing it or not was anyone's guess. He moved his lips back to her own, silencing the cry. Her fingers dug into his shoulder blades before she stumbled back, her back hitting the stone wall. She wiped her mouth on her hand, looking at the red. Her entire body was quaking, as if she were sick. Max nodded his head and vanished, very slowly. The world was slowly starting to go blurry and for a moment she was alarmed--until she realized it wasn't her dying, it was her eyes tearing up. Burying her face in her arms, she curled around herself as her body shook with sobs.

...The Cottage, Sanctuary...

Sarah slowly opened her eyes slowly. Waking up with someone else was a new experience for her, new and oddly wonderful. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the sleeping face of Caleb Danvers and felt her lips pull into a smile. She was lying on his chest, one hand over his heart. Both his arms were wrapped around her, pulling her against him. It wasn't as if they had anything that hadn't been seen. After last night, one of them had remembered to pull the comforter over them. Even so, Sarah doubted they really needed the extra warmth. Sighing, she turned her head back into his chest and closed her eyes again.

It was like breathing again, like swimming under water and then coming up for air. That was the only way to describe how she felt. She was finally not numb, she could feel again and she was feeling the only thing she ever wanted to feel. She slowly became aware of Caleb's long fingers slowly running up her other arm, just barely light enough so she could feel it. Tilting her head up again, she looked into his eyes, thrilling at how warm they were. She smiled at him, for him and could feel heart speed up at the look in his eyes.

"I can't believe this is happening," she said softly, "i thought I lost you forever."

"No," he said shaking his head, "you couldn't loose me, just like I couldn't loose you," he looked away and she opened her mouth, "but you have to understand something, my life can never be normal again. I'm different, we both are but I don't know if you understand--"

"Caleb," she said looking up at him, "look at me. Caleb, my life is not normal either and I know that after this, after what were about to do, it will never be the same," she sighed, "I just can't help but wonder what will happen to us once this is over. I mean look at us, Pogue and Kate are expecting their first child, it's only a matter of time before Tyler and Emily do something, Reid and Sonya are probably fooling around but whether they actually do anything or not, well who knows."

"Don't forget Claire and Chase," he said, "the two of them have probably started to rekindle their relationship."

"I don't know how the two of them will work. I mean she's the future ruler of the Witch Hunters and he's a Warlock," she sighed, "the two of them--well I honestly expected her to get with Merrick before all this," she felt Caleb nod, "I hope they find a way," she looked up at him, "did I tell you Mel's married?"

"Mel's married?" he felt himself grin, I did not see that one."

"I think it's kind of sweet," she said, "she, her husband Ed and this kid Jamie have been helping us since LA when we collected Reid and Tyler. Ed's another element wielder and Jamie," she paused, "Jamie hasn't show any real magical ability. Oh and we have Sonya's brother with us--his name's Max and he's got some kind of curse on him."

'Well it appears you've got yourself quite a crew," he said.

"Yes we do," Sarah said, "we need it if we're going to have a chance at defeating Vivian and Merrick," she toyed with Caleb's fingers, "do you think that's why Claire did it?" she sighed, "she died and resurrected herself willingly. You saw what that did to Chase, she did it out of her own free will. Do you think it was for love?"

"Maybe," he said.

"I mean it's kind of romantic, isn't it? Practical Claire? Her note said she found something worth sacrificing for."

"Well we'll know soon enough," Caleb said.

_If you're reading this then I am gone. I don't remember much, if anything at all and what I do remember is more feelings than memories. But I do know one thing, though I don't know how I know it. I did this for a reason, I did it so we could live. A wise person once said that sacrificing without a cause is pointless. I know I have a cause and I know that it is true. I also know that I have to see this through. I've gone to my Clan. My name is on the treaty and if I agree to take my duties as the heir up again then they will send aide. I don't know if its possible for us to resume our lives after this, if we're successful then one threat will be finished but it is only a matter of time before another presents itself. There may be a day when I will be the threat that hunts you, though I want you to know that the idea of that troubles me. Below are the co-ordiantes of where the ships will land and the date they will be there. I suggest you get there a few days early._

_The best of luck to you._

_Oh and if Chase has followed me, and I believe he may, then I will return him to you as best I can, but beyond that I make no promises._


	17. Death of the King

...City by the Sea...

Claire ran a brush through her hair. The blood red cloak she would wear was her own, it had been for longer than she had been able to wear it. Even so, she had gone years without wearing it. She had become accustom to the feeling of not wearing it. To suddenly have the sweeping garment on, it was as if a literal weight was settling on her shoulders to go along with the figurative one. Despite all the tragedy that came with the color, she never could actually hate it, not until this point. Standing in front of the mirrors, she looked ever inch the heir she did not feel.

The gown she wore was befitting of a woman. Her woman hood was not something to be ashamed of, she had that drilled into her time and time again. If she was to lead then she must be comfortable with all aspects of herself. Even so, the corset alone was not the reason it was hard to breath. It was modern times and she was stuck looking like a princess from a fairy tale. Her gown was black, a black so dark it seemed to glow blue in the light. She dropped her hands to her side, setting the brush down and looked back in the mirrors. A single diamond tear was snaking down her cheek, something she immediately wiped away. Someone knocked on the door and she numbly told them to come in.

"Claire?" Chase asked, stepping inside, "your father--" he stopped, "you look, wow."

She looked at him through the reflection in the mirror, fighting the nausea that seemed to be swarming her. She looked away, softly biting her lip and praying he would just think of her as someone who had broken up with him. He stepped fully into the room, in awe but not afraid of her. He was wearing one of the stiff necked garments that the men of her Clan wore, that the leading men in her Clan wore. She turned around slowly and faced him, burying her hands in the fold of her dress. He walked until they were directly apart, separated by only a few feet. He looked over at the cloak that rested on the chair before looking back at her.

"My father," she prodded.

"Your father sent me to get you," he said shaking himself, "he said it's time and I should bring you to him."

"You know your way around already?" she asked walking over to the cloak, "I'm impressed."

"Allow me," he said picking up the cloak a moment before she could. He opened the garment and slowly settled it around her shoulders, his hands just brushing the bare skin of her arms before they followed the cloak up and pinned it with the brooch at her throat.

"Chase," she breathed out, leaning against him. She felt his hands drop down to just where her own were.

"Come," he said stepping away, "I am to escort you, nothing more," he offered his arm to her.

"The day I need an escort is the day I take a King," she snapped brushing past him.

She walked down the hallway with all the pride befitting a future Queen. She led Chase into one of the massive rooms, there may have been many but there was only one that was used for what they were about to do. Claire stepped inside and Chase followed, just as she expected. Lining the wall were figures dressed like them, all wearing the same blood red cloak. She walked into the center of the room and knelt down, spreading her skirts around her like a stain. The King revealed himself, walking forward and standing in front of her. He smiled and nodded at the men before looking at her.

Chase hadn't seen Claire's eyes after Merrick's betrayal. He had seen the frightening coldness before but never like that. Right after Merrick's betrayal, everyone had been convinced she had been possessed because when they were attacked, she didn't just rip the power from the assailant, she ripped everything from them and didn't bat an eye. The way she looked at her father now, he knew that she had once again been lying to them. The look in her eyes was not that of someone who was thrown out, it was that of someone who had left willingly, left with the intention of never coming back. He looked around and realized that none of the others gathered there had any idea that something was about to happen, something very big. He saw Claire's hand was in a fist, something metal glinting inside it. He started forward, only to be stopped by someone's hand.

"No," the man said, "this is between them now. We have no part in it."

"She's going to do something stupid," he said looking at her.

"And she'll deal with the consequences," he snapped looking back at the two of them, "grab him," two men came behind him and grabbed his arms, holding him there like a prisoner and he suddenly found it was impossible to talk.

With a flick of her wrist, Claire revealed what she held in her hand. It was a locket, to be more specific it was the locket. She held it out to her father who looked at her suspiciously but said nothing.

"Everyone in this room thinks I left here for love," she said, her voice deadly calm, "no-one knows that was nothing more than an excuse," she looked at the locket, "you know, Parker and Vivian may have been devious and evil but they were not smart enough to figure out how to store that kind of power, they didn't know about that loophole, no-one did--no-one except for you. You formed an alliance with him, using me as a bargaining chip," she clenched her fist around the locket, "you were going to sell this Clan out, you were going to send us all to our deaths for power," she shook her head, "I left because I couldn't take the shame of knowing that I helped you. I died because I thought that I could never lead this Clan," she drew herself up, "but now I know that I can lead them, it's you whose unfit."

"Is this true?" one man asked.

"Did you really do this?"

"After all this time," he said nodding, "I knew you figured it out and I always wondered why you chose to leave the way you did," he looked around, "I always thought that anyone who left like you did would not be able to lead the Clan," he looked at her, "and once again you prove me wrong."

"Yes, yes I did," she said holding out her hand. The locket slid through her fingers as easily as water, "and right now you're probably thinking that I'm just going to let you walk away, lead the Clan and redeem yourself," she shook her head, "its hard to believe that there was a time when you weren't a fool," she sighed, "pity, I half expected you to plead for your life, it seems you still have some pride left," she threw out her hand and with agonizing slowness, a sword formed, "I absolve you of your duties as King and Leader of both Clan Theron and the Alliance. I have left and been both Guardian and Envoy, I have returned not as your heir but as your Queen," she drew the sword back, "May the Gods give you peace, you'll find none here."

She brought the sword around in an arc, slicing it through the King's head before he had time to react. It took only a moment for his body to fall but that moment seemed to go on forever. Claire stood there, her arm still in the ending motion of the swing, one pale forearm a breath from her own throat. As soon as the King's body fell, she drew the sword around in a circle, her eyes blazing with coldness. In that moment, Chase knew she was gone. Her eyes seemed boar into each and every person standing there, making them feel almost sick. He even felt the men holding him loosen their grip slightly.

"You are all sworn to me," she said, "by the Alliance and by my actions today. If anyone sees me as unfit they should speak up now," no-one said a word, "good," she said nodding, "then I suggest you all prepare, we ride out at sunset"

...The Battleground...

Tyler hit the ground hard, clutching his head painfully. His scream was only muffled by the fact that he was completely doubled over. Sonya heard it and ran forward, wrapping her arms around him and taking his power. He stopped screaming but continued to shake like a leaf. Sonya closed her eyes desperately, afraid for the young man's life. His lips were red where he had bit them in an effort to stop and there were actual nail indents in his face, just above his eyebrows. His breathing quieted slightly, but not enough to make her feel comfortable with letting him go.

"What happened?" she demanded, trying to keep her voice calm.

"Claire," he gasped, "she killed her father, she took control of Clan Theron," he made a strangled sound, "there's so much pain, I can't--"

"It's okay," she said, "it's okay--Emily!" she cried over her shoulder.

"I'm here," Emily said taking her place, "it will be okay Tyler," she said wrapping her arms around her.

Sonya shakily got to her feet, stepping back slowly. The idea of doing this, of caring this much, it was frightening to her. As she stepped away from the couple huddled on the ground, she looked around her. The beach where their fates would be decided was, for lack of a better word, disgusting. It was one of the first battleground she had been on that suited the mood of a battle. The rocks were high and sharp, taking most of the sunlight with them. The light that did filter down was wane and almost grey, barely light at all. She hated the place already, even if it hadn't potentially been the sight of her death she wouldn't have liked it. She sighed and pressed one hand against the rocks, trying to feel something from the cold stone.

If Tyler was right, and she had no doubt he was, then Claire had used the locket to become the Queen of the Witch Hunters. Sonya had seen Claire at her absolute worst. The others had seen her when she was bad, but Sonya and Mel alone had seen her when there were simply no words to describe her. Now Chase may have seen her as well. Sonya wouldn't be surprised if even Chase ran screaming in the other direction. Mel may have been right in saying they had to kill Claire for knowing too much but saying that they had to do something and actually pulling it off were two drastically different things. If Claire wanted to live then she was going to live, no matter what the great Melanie said.

"You look completely lost in thought," Max said pursing his lips, "well you will be thrilled to know that Claire has all her memories returned and she hasn't gone completely crazy--well no crazier than she already was."

"Good news," Sonya said sarcastically crossing her arms around herself.

"Oh sister dear," she said, "you realize how dangerous a game this is your playing," he said, "your about to go down a twisted path, a path you've tried very hard to avoid."

"Yet every road seems to lead me here," she said, "maybe I need to stop fighting the inevitable, maybe I'm just delaying what is going to happen anyway," she sighed pressing one hand to her face, "I don't know, everything is so different now. Sarah has her explanation, Kate has hers too, but me," she turned to him, "why was I brought into this?"

"For the same reason I was,' he said, "the fates chose us."

"Fate?" she shook her head, "fate is nothing but an excuse, its an easy way out, that's all," she looked at him, "do you think it was fate that made you a vampire? Fate or lust? Because if its fate you think, then your questioning it very hard," she turned away, "I just wish that we could find some answers to this. Why were we chosen to be the ones in this? Why were they chosen? Why were any of us?"

"We may never know," he said with a sigh, "maybe we're not supposed to know, maybe we're supposed to play our parts and not question them," he shook his head, "then again, when have you not questioned anything?"

"Maybe it's time I start," she said, "maybe the world is trying to tell me something and I need to listen."

"My my," he said, "you're growing up."

"Maybe just a little bit," she said pinching her fingers together.

"Well then," he said, "I'm not one to be outdone," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of the black pills. Curling his fingers around them, he reduced them to nothing more than dust, "hopefully they'll attack at night."

Sonya walked forward and wrapped her arms around her brother. Max didn't hesitate before returning the gesture.

"Okay enough of the mushy stuff, I'm going to get cavities," she said making a face, "and lets face it, with your dental work--"

"Hey!" he said, "I brush my teeth very thoroughly," he stopped and looked over his shoulder, "do you think you'll be able too, you know?"

"We'll find out, won't we?"

...The Ships...

The Isolde held one chapel in it, where soldiers would go to pray before their impending deaths. At the current hour, it was all but deserted. Chance entered cautiously. After all he had been through, there were very few things he still respected but God was one of them. He walked down one of the pews and slipped inside, kneeling down and bowing his head. The smell of incense was thick from the last group of prayers. It smelled spicy, not like the cloying incense of the churches that he spent a good deal of his childhood in. His mother had always believed that he was cursed, that they were cursed. His father hadn't told her what he was capable of, he had died before Chance had been born. When Chance started to display powers at the age of 13, his mother almost had a heart attack. She had been supportive, of course, but there had always been this suspicion around her.

Now it seemed the suspicion had been well deserved. They were monsters, there was no denying it. He may have been fighting it tooth and nail but the fact was that he was on the ship heading to kill a group of people he never thought he would have too. Well maybe the Covenant of Ipswitch, but not Sonya and certainly not Claire. Of course if the power surge was any indication then Claire was about to become an enemy for them all. Witch Hunters and Warlocks did not get along, at all, period. There was nothing that either side could do to change that except stop being what they were. The Guardians were a kind of alliance, but they still required members to stop being what they were.

He wondered what would become of Claire, if she had remembered why she left. If so and she had still taken over the Clan, then maybe he had under estimated her. It wouldn't be the first time they had done so, for any of the players. The Covenant of Ipswitch should have died seven years ago with Chase. It should have ended back then, not been dragged out for all this time. It took him a full minuet to realize the dark chuckling was coming from him. It was ironic to think that after everything the Covenant would still technically be dead.


	18. A Question

Hi everyone!

ducks

Don't kill me! I kind of got out of the whole Covenant-thing! So I found an old notebook with my outline for the end of this fic (okay with my scribbled notes on how to end it) and I was wondering if there's any interest. I wasn't planning to finish it ducks again but if there's interests I wil.

Click the review button or pm me. If I get some kind of response I'll write the last two or three chapters and have them up here soon. If not I'm just going to leave it.

Thanks!  
Enchantable


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